How it all began…
It was a very lovely summer's day in Portsmouth in 2007 - I was seven months pregnant and making my way to work. I was finally over the morning sickness (thanks to lots of chewing gum), and felt excited to meet my cousin after work for the last bit of hospital bag shopping. However, a phone call from the clinic changed all that. I wasn't due to see my midwife until the following week, but the duty midwife said that they had to change some appointments around, and wondered if I minded popping in. It turns out that her phone call saved our lives! She informed me that I had very high blood pressure, so I was sent straight to the hospital.
On arrival, there was a rush of doctors, nurses and lots of activities. I remember thinking - why all the excitement? I was still planning on going shopping! However, this hope was quickly dashed as I was informed that I had pre-eclampsia and needed immediate bed rest. I was shocked, scared and alone, as my then-husband was on deployment with the Royal Navy.
On 23 July 2007, at 29 weeks, just before 4:30pm, our little miracle baby was born by emergency cesarean section. She weighed just under 3 lbs. What followed were months in the hospital and a whirlwind of emotions that made it all so difficult.
I remember holding her for the first time – it wasn’t what I envisioned while pregnant. All the wires, the sounds of the beeping machines, the cluttering of hospital noises, babies crying, the feeling of complete fear! Yet also, the wonders of the little life you made. How precious. How tiny. How helpless. Yet in those moments, you find that your strength returns. So does your hope, your love and even though you are scared, just for those few minutes, life is perfect!
We made some great friendships during those months in hospital. Occasionally we still meet up with the families who are on this journey. For that I am grateful, because without them I don't know how we would have got through those dark days.
