On 29th July 2019 we welcomed the arrival of our baby daughter Beau-Daisy born five weeks  prematurely.   Despite being prem all seemed well, and we were over the moon.  However it soon became evident that Beau wasn’t as well as we thought. . Her  lungs had not had enough time to develop properly, this caused her little lungs to be filled with microscopic holes which in turn filled with fluid that meant she could not breathe correctly and her lungs were drowning her.  She was given intravenous antibiotics and was on oxygen for 7 days.  At 13 days old Beau was able to come home thanks to the excellent care from Little Buds, and further care from the the Out Reach  team who called daily until Beau was able to be discharged. At last we had our little Beau, healthy and thriving….for two weeks, then she got sepsis and was admitted back into Darenth hospital. Another course at antibiotics and daily injections for a further two weeks.  A worrying time for us all, but our little fighter pulled through. And as she celebrated her first birthday, we were excited to discover that  Beau was to become a ‘big sister’ 

Just like Beau, her little brother arrived five weeks ahead of time on 19th February this year. He was a good weight for such a perm baby., but our excitement was very short lived. At just one hour old he was struggling to breathe and had to be ventilated with the possibility of being transferred to another hospital. His lungs were under developed due to a hormone deficiency that hadn’t yet matured enough in his tiny body.  Thanks to the specialist care of Little Buds yet again (and a very amazing Dr Khan) Grayson was anesthetiser, ventilated,  given a concoction of meds and put on life support in intensive care.and after  just 8 days he was well enough to come home. 

Again, following the pattern set by his sister,  after only a few days at home Grayson suffered a seizure and was admitted back into Darenth  hospital . After a few days of observation we bought him home only for the seizures to continue.  At 6 weeks old Grayson suddenly started to vomit after every feed, instinct told us something wasn’t right and we took him back to A&E after tests and X-rays Grayson was blue lighted to St Thomas’ in London for an op on an intestinal blockage , something quite common in prem boys. The key hole op was very successful and most likely the cause of the seizures that he had suffered from was through the pain he had prior to his op. Grayson is now 5 months old and Beau will celebrate her 2nd birthday at the end of July and both of them are doing so well.

The cost of care prem babies receive runs into many thousands of pounds. We owe Little Buds the world and would like to be able to give something towards the care of the other prem babies that continue to arrive. If anyone is able to contribute all donations will be most gratefully received.  

I hope that you find it in your hearts to help us with this special cause, 

Lots of love 

Hannah & David xx