A dad whose baby was born prematurely has described the 'traumatic' moments his son and his wife had to have round-the-clock care from hospital staff.
Rob Jones and his wife Ruby Jones, who live together in Ravenshead, were expecting their first child in 2015.
Ruby, now 29, was taken to Nottingham City Hospital by her husband as a precaution on August 31 of that year, when it was then quickly realised Ruby had complications.
Ruby was suffering from pre-eclampsia, a condition that causes high blood pressure during pregnancy and after labour, and can be serious if not treated.
It then escalated that their son Albert needed to be born at just 35 weeks, and an emergency C-section was performed at around 2am on September 1, 2015.
Albert only weighed 3lbs and was 27cm in length when born, and, because of that, he was taken straight to the neonatal unit where he received round-the-clock care for two weeks.
Ruby was also recovering for a week after the birth, and Rob, now 33, explained what he felt as it all happened.
He said: "It was fairly traumatic as it was not the plan, it wasn't the way we thought it would be.
"When Albert was taken to the neonatal unit, I could see he was visibly fine, he was breathing and crying like you'd expect a baby to. But, because he was so small, it was shocking really.
"You picture a 30cm ruler like the ones you have on your desk and you think 'flipping heck that's not that big'.
"We were there for just over two weeks but it felt like a very long two weeks, especially as normally you have that time with your new-born at home.
"The toughest part was not all being able to be together in Albert's first week - especially for Ruby, that was the hardest part for her."
Albert is now six years old and is healthy, as are his parents.
Rob said: "When you see Albert now, you'd never think he was a tiny baby, he was very weak when born.
"Anything could have been affected, such as his eyesight, heart, brain, anything.
"The older he's getting, the more we realise the care he received must have been absolutely right, as procedures and everything must have happened at just the right time.
"We left the hospital staff to it, and we think it's their judgement that has meant he's completely fit and well now.
"When I was going between seeing Albert on the bottom floor of City Hospital and Ruby on the first floor, I knew that they were in good hands when I would see the other one."
To say thank you, Rob is raising money for Nottingham University Hospitals Charity.
He first fundraised 10 years ago in memory of his grandfather, Tom Jones OBE, and felt the milestone was the right time to do it again.
Rob said: "I'm an amateur with it, but I did some events leading to the Great North Run in 2012 to raise money for Prostate Cancer in my grandfather's memory.
"Trust me when I say I'm not a runner. It was during that period of events I met Ruby too.
"Life circumstances are now completely different, and it's probably a bit later than we should have done, but we wanted to say a proper thank you to the staff who cared for Ruby and Albert by raising money for them."
Rob aims to raise £2,000 for Nottingham University Hospitals Charity through his JustGiving page, and has already raised more than £1,200 at the time of writing.
He's planned 10 events through the year; his latest challenge, on Friday (March 4), will see him walk from the City Ground to Bramall Lane to then watch Nottingham Forest take on Sheffield United in the Championship.
Barbara Linley, neonatal matron, said: “Thank you to Rob for thinking of the neonatal service and the care we provide for preterm and sick babies across Nottingham and the East Midlands.
"We are pleased we could make a difference and help his son Albert at the start of his life and wish Rob every success with the fundraising in support of the care we deliver."
Rebecca Taylor, community fundraising manager at Nottingham Hospitals Charity, said: "We're delighted that Rob has chosen to raise money for Nottingham Hospitals Charity, to thank the hospital for the care given to his son Albert as a baby.
"Rob is taking on a huge challenge as part of our partnership with Nottingham Forest Community Trust - taking on ten events over the course of the year, to raise money for both charities.
"We're so grateful for Rob's support, and wish him the best of luck with this month's challenge, the long walk from Nottingham Forest to Sheffield United.
"The money Rob raises will make a real difference to young patients at Nottingham's hospitals, as well as young people across the local community."
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