This cause is very close to my heart please read the story below from a very close friend.

At 32 weeks gestation following a placenta abruption on 15th January 2018 our baby was born 8 weeks early and delivered by emergency caesarean section and transferred to the Special Care Baby Unit in Glangwili, ‘it’s a girl’, baby Keira weighed just 3lb 11oz. When Keira was just 11 days old she took a turn for the worse and became poorly, they initially thought it was Necrotising enterocolitis (NEC), she was ventilated and started on antibiotics and the next day transferred to the University Hospital of Wales Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) where she could be assessed by the Surgeons. This is the only centre in Wales with a Neonatal Surgical Unit and we were extremely lucky to get a bed on this very busy ward. Following further investigations Keira was diagnosed with staphylococcus aureus sepsis, the origin of which was never found so as a precaution she was to be treated with antibiotics for 28 days, Keira started to respond to the antibiotics quite quickly and within 4 days there was a marked improvement in her health. With such tiny hands and feet and veins it was not easy for Keira’s body to maintain a cannula as her veins would tissue regularly and they would then have to find another site to administer her fluids and antibiotics. Following multiple tissued cannulas a decision was made to insert a long line to carry her through to the end of her course of antibiotics.

Keira spent a total of 25 days at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), this time was extremely emotional and it’s difficult to put in to words how you’re all of a sudden living your life by the minute because it was impossible to think beyond that moment, things would deteriorate extremely quickly but then improve just as quick. My mind was never at ease wondering what will become of our tiny little baby who came in to the world too soon and too vulnerable and who is now poorly fighting for her life, wondering would she respond to treatment, would we ever get to take our baby girl home, it was hard to stay positive at such a fragile time. The staff at the Unit were phenomenal, amiable, compassionate, considerate, diligent, empathetic, impartial, sympathetic, professional, I could go on and on. Not only were they trained to look after such tiny little poorly babies but they were tuned in to the wellbeing of the mums and dads too, monitoring how they were coping and the smallest sign of upset or worry would be immediately treated with support, comfort and understanding.

SCIPS – supporting parents and families of special care babies.

Registered charity number 511056

The charity was set up in the 1980’s by staff members and keen parents who wanted ‘to give something back’, with the aim being to raise funds to help contribute to the care of very sick or premature babies and to provide a support network to the parents.