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MY STORY:

23/01/2009 I gave birth by c section to my son Leo Thomas Anderson. He wasn't due until 27//04/09 he was 14 weeks premature. Unfortunately I suffered severe pre-eclampsia and doctors and nurses didn’t no if I would make it through the night when I was rushed to Middlesboro James Cook university Hospital 120mile round trip from home there was no hospitals in our area who had the facilities for a baby born so early. When Leo arrived into the world at 17.06 pm he was taken straight away into the Neonatal Intensive care Unit I never got to see him or hold him. I was returned back to the High Dependency unit (intensive care for pregnant women) I was too ill to meet my son and he was a poorly little man to. I finally met him at 1.00am this felt like the longest 8hrs of my life. When I saw him I couldn’t believe how small he was he weighed 1lb 10oz small but adorable. I eventually got better and spent everyday at my son’s incubator because I lived so far from the hospital I had priority for living accommodation in the hospital. Leo’s dad Michael drove every night after work to see me and his son. It was an emotionally draining time for him but he says it was well worth it. Leo was born with cysts on his left kidney this wasn’t to cause too much problems. Leo couldn’t breath for himself and so was fully ventilated his body so small and fragile we could hardly see him for all the tubes and wires. His lungs were badly damaged from the vent. He suffered a nasty infection which began to worsen when he was 2weeks old. He started to retain fluid and began to swell so much that the skin on his right arm tore. Doctors decided to scan his good kidney. They were then shocked to find Leo had two cysts on this kidney swell. His other kidney had begun to fail to. Leo was still given intensive treatment for 2weeks but in this time he wasn’t responding to any of it. It was just him fighting his tiny body for 2solid weeks. He really was our little fighter he was trying so hard to stay with us. Doctors and nurses told us Leo was a very very poorly boy, we had him baptised at the hospital. The following week we were told the most painful words we will hear. We don’t think Leo is going to make it. These few words would change our lives it tore us to pieces. He has multi cystic dysplastic kidney disease and this is not compatible with life. They told us to get our family together the following day to say their goodbyes. Goodbye seemed such a final word. We were torn to pieces family said goodbye and that evening of 28/02/09 Leo was transferred to a private room. Were myself and Leos dad said our goodbyes. I held Leo on 4/02/09 for a very brief time. Leo’s dad hadn’t had the chance yet Leo was too poorly to be taken out of the incubator again. So Leo’s dad held him as they removed the tube from his ventilator. Leo passed away peacefully in his mummy and daddy’s arms aged 36 days old. No one should ever have to go through this painful traumatic time. No one should have to say goodbye to their child. Everything was a blur it wouldn’t sink in. We put Leo a clean nappy on and dressed him in an arsenal football baby grow daddy’s favourite team. We sat for ages just taking in every tiny little detail of him too scared that we would forget his face. We laid him in his Moses basket and he just looked peacefully asleep. The next few weeks were so hard Leo had a post mortem and the verdict extreme prematurity and the kidney failure. This was written as due to bad luck.  What had we done to deserve this was what went round in my mind. We buried Leo just over 2weeks later. If you can say a funeral was beautiful then this was. A special send off for a very very special boy. We released 5balloons for each week of his life and his daddy carried him into church in the coffin. We still find it all very hard to come to terms with. I am running the marathon 2010 for bliss in remembrance of my special boy but also to help support other parents who may have to face such a terrible loss and to help with research and development of babies born too small too soon too sick. If I reach my target of 2,500 it will train a neonatal nurse in the developmental care approach and a whole lot more. Supporting bliss means so much to me it’s very close to my heart. And to be able to run the marathon and raise the money would be an immense achievement. I feel I owe it to Leo he has made us all so proud. Leo may only have been with a short time but he has touched so many hearts and for such a little boy what a very big personality he had. Leo deserves this and so do bliss for their amazing support. So please help me to achieve my goal I would be so very grateful. My run is in memory of Leo Thomas Anderson who sadly passed away aged 36days Thank you all        .Becky Spiteri.