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Andrew's page
Fundraising for Salisbury District Hospital Stars Appeal
Story
My daughter Isabelle was born at 26 weeks and 4 days, and spent 36 days at the Neonatal Unit at Southampton Hospital, then a further 37 days on the Salisbury Hospital Neonatal unit.
The support that we as a family have received from the many consultants, doctors, midwives, surgeons, nurses and ancillary staff through this time was amazing.
Isabelle has turned out to be an amazingly strong and determined girl, she has;
- had a lung infection
- received 7 blood transfusions
- 5 x-rays
- 7 ultrasound scans of her brain, and 4 of her heart
- been diagnosed and treated successfully for a patent ductus arteriosus
- intubated, self ex-tubed, and re-intubated
Though some babies have much tougher times, the stress on our family has been immense; it's been a tough journey to get here (3 miscarriages and the loss of our son, William), so we're grateful for the prayers and best wishes that have been bestowed upon us by our friends, family and work colleagues.
I'm running the Weymouth Half Marathon to raise money for the Neonatal unit at Salisbury Hospital so that
- the facilities remain up to date,
- families can be provided with accommodation to be close to their babies
- their medical staff have the training and assets they need to be able to deliver care to every baby on the unit
I'm not a runner; I've occasionally attempted the couch to 5k. Now I'm pushing myself to reach that goal.... and then the half marathon.