Jenson’s Story
In June 2024, our beautiful boy Jenson gave us a shock when he arrived early at 28 weeks gestation. He was born at Sunderland Royal and stayed in Neonatal Intensive Care for 5 weeks until he was strong enough to be transferred to the Special Care Baby Unit at the Cumberland Infirmary Carlisle, where we stayed for 3 weeks before finally coming home.
We struggled to adjust with the move from Sunderland to Carlisle, especially as Jenson had to go back into an incubator for infection prevention reasons until his MRSA screening came back negative. This felt like a backward step from being in a cot in Sunderland, however during this emotional time we received one of the Team Evie Parent Support Bags, which was such a lovely way to feel acknowledged as a SCBU parent. Jenson loved his miniboo and the water bottle was really useful when having to express constantly and stay hydrated. I still use it now and it’s a wonderful reminder of how far Jenson has come. The drawstring bag helped transport milk expressed at home and Jenson’s clean clothes when he was ready to wear them. There were also milestone cards included which were a wonderful way to commemorate little steps including getting out the incubator, feeding without a tube, coming off oxygen and finally coming home.
During our second week in Carlisle, Jenson and myself developed COVID and had to be isolated. The colouring book from the parent bags helped keep me sane for the hours spent sat watching Jenson alone and the Team Evie library meant Jenson’s dad could read the BFG to him of an evening after work and bond with him.
Having the family room also gave us a well needed break at times and made us feel somewhat normal being able to sit on sofas rather than hospital chairs.
When Jenson was looking ready to come home we spent three nights in the parent rooms. The second night Jenson was able to stay in our room with us. Although we were still in the hospital, the room felt homely and we got the experience of sleeping next to our baby for the first time. It was something we’d waited the last 8 weeks for and it really helped us feel more confident when we finally did bring him home.
All of the staff at Sunderland Royal and Cumberland Infirmary are amazing. We are so grateful to Team Evie and all the wonderful things they have donated to help poorly children and their parents. We can’t imagine how much harder our journey would have been without their thoughtful added touches and we cannot thank them enough for everything they do.
