Hi, I'm Nori and this is my story!

Actually, my full name is Norianwe but nobody could pronounce it so mummy and daddy shortened it to Nori!

I was born on the 2nd April 2022, at 26 weeks gestation, in Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital, weighing a tiny 1lb and 6oz (760 grams). Not what mummy thought she would be doing on a lovely Saturday lunchtime. Because I was so tiny and extremely early, I had to be transferred to a bigger hospital who were better equipped to look after me. So that evening, I was off to Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth.

On day 2 of being in the world, I decided to give mummy and daddy a big scare and I had a bleed on my brain which the doctors did not think I was going to survive. They rushed all the way to Portsmouth to see me, but by the time they arrived I had stabilised myself and was doing good!

But unfortunately, the bleed on my brain went on to cause more problems. We had learned that the bleed had damaged both sides of my brain, and the consultants said that it wouldn't affect me too much when I grew up, I might just be a bit slower than all the other babies. But then when the blood started to disperse it ended up blocking my tubes that carry the cerebrospinal fluid around my brain and my spine, causing hydrocephalus. But I was doing really well with all my normal baby things, breathing by myself with little help, tolerating my milk and wriggling around.

So at just 4 weeks old, after seeing my MRI scan and how bad my brain fluid was, Mummy and Daddy had to make the difficult decision to put me onto palliative care as having an operation now would not fix or improving my quality of life. Mummy and Daddy got me moved back to Basingstoke Hospital, so I was closer to home. When I arrived back in Basingstoke, the doctors told Mummy and Daddy that they didn't believe I would survive longer than a few hours, possibly a few days after I was removed from the ventilator, as I had been back on it a while and my head had grown larger.

And this is where the fun begins.

I proved them all wrong and I went on for another 5 and a half weeks. And in those 5 and a half week, I got to do so many normal baby things; I got to meet all of the family, I got to have several baths (which I was not to keen on from the start but they grew on me), I got to drink my milk from a bottle (all 33ml of it every 3 hours, I was a little milk monster), I got to go for walks outside in a pram with mummy and daddy, I got to go out in the garden, I got to have lots of cuddles, we did my handprints and footprints, I got to have a professional photoshoot done (where I got to show off my personality), I got to have a chat with all the nurses finding out all the gossip, I got my own room, and I even got my first haircut.

Me, Mummy and Daddy would not have been able to do any of these things without the incredible and caring staff at the Neonatal Ward in Basingstoke Hospital (shout out to Nikki, my absolute favourite nurse ever). Words cannot describe how much we would like to thank them for making my life and journey so special, and showing us how much we could do together even though I had a very little life. They made it magical.

As a massive thank you to the team at Neonatal Ward in Basingstoke, I have set up in this page in hope to raise money, so they can continue to help babies and their parents. The Basingstoke Neonatal Unit is a 14 cot unit, providing incredible care to sick and premature babies. All money raised will goes towards purchasing new equipment for the ward, improving the services and facilities for the parents of the babies, and making the ward a comfortable place to be. (because I heard from Grandad that the parent area and most of the wards looks actually the same as it did when Daddy was in here nearly 30 years ago). 

Thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page and read my story.

Love Norianwe (02/04/22 - 14/06/22 x

(And proud Mummy and Daddy, Rebecca + Sean)

If you would like to read more about mummy, daddy and myself, visit our blog (that mummy created) at

ducksfornori.wordpress.com

Basingstoke Neonatal Fund Code: 4217



Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.