Roydon mum aims to help parents of premature babies after her own 'miracle' son
A south Norfolk mother whose son survived being born after just 23-weeks of her pregnancy, is ready to help other parents going through the same heartaching situation.
Charlie Allen is now almost four and, although still small for his age, is all set to start primary school in September.
As he becomes more independent, mum Emma wants to start helping other parents through Bliss, the special care baby charity which provides support for premature and sick babies and their families in the UK.
Mrs Allen, 30, of Aldrich Way, Roydon, gave birth to twins at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital on April 27, 2006, halfway through her pregnancy.
Her babies should not have arrived until August 23. Jack weighed in at just 1lb 4oz, while Charlie weighed 1lb 7oz. Jack lived for only 11 days and did not survive.
"Charlie was the youngest surviving premature baby to leave the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital," said Mrs Allen. "I was lucky. He was only as big as my hand. It was very frightening."
In his first few weeks of life, Charlie underwent a major stomach operation at the Norfolk and Norwich, followed by another operation at Great Ormond Street to repair a duct in his heart. Then he had laser eye surgery to save his sight.
"It was all very hard work," said Mrs Allen. "I was very hands-on. I changed his nappies while he was in the incubator and I trained to do the tube feeding. I wanted to do things for him because I wasn't able to hold him until he was 15 weeks old."
When she was finally allowed to take Charlie home at five months old, he was on oxygen, four-hourly drugs and two-hourly feeding.
"It was difficult, but you don't have a choice," she said. "When it's your child, you'll do anything to make them better."
Charlie still needed oxygen until 18 months ago, but is now full of life with a cheeky smile.
"He's a little behind in his development and has a bit of catching up to do, but he is learning something new every day and interacting well with other children," said Mrs Allen.
He loves bikes and cars, already attends Swan Nursery five mornings a week and hopes to go to Roydon Primary School in September.
"All that effort I put in is so worth it," his mum said.
Mrs Allen praised the support she has received from family, friends, hospital staff and the respite nurse who helped her at home, and said she now wants to make a difference for other parents going through the same situation.
"It is all so frightening, I want to try to make it a little easier for them," she said.
She has recently become a parent representative on the board of Bliss, putting forward parents' opinions from Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex, and will attend her first official meeting in April.
She has also opened two funds for donations to the charity. One is a Sunshine Fund, in Charlie's name, and the other is a Precious Star Fund in memory of Jack.
Her first fund-raising event was planned for last night, organised with a friend in Essex, and she hopes to run some events locally too.
"I've also arranged for some local people to knit little hats for the premature babies at the neo-natal unit at the hospital," she said.
If anyone would like to help fundraise for Bliss or would like more information, contact Mrs Allen by email emmaallenmrs@yahoo.co.uk
WebWatch: www.bliss.org.uk
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Thursday 02 September 2010
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