On Sunday 8th March 2020, our three identical triplets were born; Ava Grace, Elsie Anne and Orla Mary. I was only in the second trimester of my pregnancy. Needless to say they were all very small, with Ava weighing in at 1lb 6oz, Elsie at 1lb 2oz and Orla at 15oz. We were all told to expect the worst but miracles do happen, as each baby Bell survived the ‘72 hour honeymoon period’ alongside other hurdles such as brain bleeds, blood on the lungs, PDA’s, Chronic Lung Disease (the list goes on). As the days went by we were able to bond with our girls by performing daily ‘cares’ (checking their temperature, giving mouth care and nappy changing) and we were beginning to feel like a family. Unfortunately, Orla became very poorly and passed away on Friday 13th March and it was clear she needed her sister with her as Ava passed away on Saturday 14th March.

Having both girls pass away in a short amount of time hit us hard as a family, with the only comfort knowing they were both together and were paving the away for little Elsie. As the weeks passed Elsie was going from strength to strength, overcoming huge hurdles from catching sepsis, her ROP examinations to an increase in her feeds. Sadly, after 10 weeks, Elsie’s sisters were calling her and she grew angel wings on Saturday 16th May. It was a huge shock, not just to us as parents, but to our family, close friends and the team on the NICU.

With out a shadow of doubt the amazing care the baby Bells all received at Preston’s NICU allowed us to have those precious memories with all three of our daughters. The NICU is one of those places that most people are unaware of until one day you need them...

They provided accommodation next to the hospital to allow us as a family to be as close as possible to the girls, as well as giving us the opportunity to have a lot of personal experiences with Ava, Elsie and Orla which we will treasure forever. All the money we raise will go towards keeping this amazing care setup going for future parents that could need this brilliant service during their hour of need at Preston NICU.