Celebrating Natasha
Neethu Koshy is raising money for Bliss
Participants: Radhika Radha
Story
Prematurity awareness month is observed every November, with World Prematurity day on 17 th November. As per statistics, an estimated 15 million babies around the world are born premature each year and more than one million of them do not survive their early birth .
Natasha’s story
Until the birth of my little girl last year, prematurity was a world that was completely alien to me. Natasha was born in the early hours of December 14th 2018 at 25 weeks ( i.e when I was 6 months and 1 week into my pregnancy).There were no prior symptoms until the spontaneous onset of labour which lasted just 4 hours before she was born.
She weighed just 765 gms and was only slightly bigger than the palm of my hand. I got to touch her once while they were stabilising her, before she was taken off to the special care unit , and later transported by ambulance to a special care hospital. It would be another 7 hours before I could see her again . It took another 3 weeks before I could hold her for the first time and almost 4 months before we could bring her home.
She had a lengthy hospital stay of nearly 4 months and underwent quite a few complications as a result of her extreme prematurity. It was a period of sheer mental and physical exhaustion for us , during which we struggled to get to grips with the medical maze into which we were thrown , at the same time trying to keep some semblance of normalcy at home, for the elder one.
After 106 days in the ICU , we were able to bring Natasha home. She had to be on home oxygen for a further 3 months.Although she still has a multitude of medical follow up ‘s , she has come a long way in the last few months and is a feisty little champ filling our home and hearts with happiness. We are so proud of her for fighting so hard and being so strong.
Nothing in the world prepares you for being a preemie parent. This is a club that I wish we didn’t belong to. However it has inspired us to be better, and stronger versions of ourselves than we ever thought we could be.
Fundraising for Bliss
Bliss was founded in 1979 and over the last 40 years has grown into the leading UK charity for the 100,000 babies born needing neonatal care every year.Bliss exists to give every baby born premature or sick in the UK the best chance of survival and quality of life.
This year , as part of World prematurity day, I am participating in the London little lights 2019 walk on Saturday 16th November and fundraising for Bliss .Please see below link to the charity and the event.
https://www.bliss.org.uk/events/londonlittlelights
The walk celebrates the hope and strength of premature babies like Natasha and their families whilst raising vital funds for Bliss. The funds raised will help continue the vital work to give premature and sick babies the best start in life.
Who am I walking with:Radhika has been a dear friend who has been a constant support for us throughout this ordeal. When I said I needed a walk partner, she gladly agreed to join me for the event . We along with our girls Natanya and Adrika are planning to do the walk together this Saturday.
Thank you for visiting my page and for taking time to read through. Your generous support goes a long way to provide the hope and vital support that preemie babies and families need.Much love to all.