A dad who was unable to attend the birth of his premature twins due to Covid is to take on a mammoth two-day challenge to give thanks to the ward who cared for his son.
Sylvie Rose and Wynn Stancliffe were born at 10 weeks premature on August 24, 2021, after their mum Laura Stancliffe was admitted to hospital with Pre-eclampsia, a condition that causes high blood pressure during pregnancy and can be serious if not treated.
When the twins were born dad Ben tested positive for Covid and was unable to meet his newborns in hospital until they were three days old. During this time, the twins were receiving neonatal care together at Sunderland Royal Hospital.
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But at just four days old, Wynn was transferred to the Tiny Lives Special Care Baby Unit at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) after developing Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) - a disease where the intestine can't hold waste so bacteria may pass into the bloodstream and cause a life-threatening infection.
Laura, from Seaham, said: "We nearly lost Wynn that night. He got sent to the RVI and I got a call in the middle of the night to go there but Sylvie stayed at Sunderland and of course there were no visitors allowed at the time due to Covid so Sylvie was on her own a lot of the time."
The 28-year-old added: "It was horrible. I look back now and I don't know how we did it. We couldn't do without that ward."
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Laura said the ward had thought of everything to help support families with babies on the ward. And she believes more hospitals in the North East should be provided with the same recourses.
The mum-of-three said: "The unit had everything - counsellors, physiotherapists, breastfeeding support. Even things like parking had been thought of. As soon as Wynn got there the parking was sorted out, we just had to give them our reg.
"At the time when Wynn was at the RVI I was rushing back to Sunderland to get to Sylvie between school times and then going back to my son and then coming back to the hospital on the night time.
"With everything going on you can forget to eat and just knowing that there was a room with a sandwich and a drink that you could just grab rather than having to go through the hospital and back, they were really good."
Laura said the unit also provided materials to help their eldest son Jude, aged six, understand what was happening with his baby brother as he was unable to visit due to Covid measures in the hospital.
Laura added: "Because my other son couldn't come and meet Wynn, Tiny Lives were so good and they sent him little packs about becoming a sibling and what it means when you have a special baby in hospital. They sent stories of what it's like to be a premature baby.
"They'd sent photos of Wynn with little notes saying he missed him and couldn't wait to see him and that he had the same hair colour as him. They'd send little footprints from Wynn saying that's how big his footprint was and we're sorry that you can't come in to see him."
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Wynn and his sister Sylvie are now 11 months old and Laura said both siblings are doing well.
To thank the medical staff for all their efforts, Ben, 31, is raising cash for the unit by taking on a 131-mile coast-to-coast bike ride from Whitehaven, in Cumbria, to Sunderland to raise money for Tiny Lives on September 10. He will then continue his challenge by taking part in the Great North Run on the following day, September 11.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to sponsor Ben as he takes on the challenge. Anyone wishing to donate to Ben's GoFundMe page can do so by following this link.
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