Raffy's Story

It is not often that I can remember exactly where I was and what I was doing a year ago but today is a very poignant day.

Raffy arrived into the world at whirlwind speed on 13th September. I had a three hour labour and we were home again in time for dinner. Like all new parents we hadn’t a clue what we were doing but something just didn’t seem right. Two days later we returned to hospital and Raffy was x-rayed which revealed he had an intestinal blockage. The Doctor told us that we would probably be staying the night and so Bevan went home to get an over night bag. Things escalated very quickly after that and we were told that Raffy was going to be airlifted to Hamilton hospital that night. It was one of the scariest moments of my life. We had no idea what was wrong, but things must be pretty serious if we were going by helicopter to a specialist hospital. We waited and waited and eventually we heard the helicopter was on its way to collect us but the nurse told us that the weather was turning bad and she’d been told by the crew that they wouldn’t have enough time to refuel before the fog came. For them to be able to fly they would need to keep the weight down, therefore I would have to stay behind. I sobbed into that poor nurses’ arms, but I knew we had to let Raffy go.

The helicopter crew arrived and were amazing. They explained everything they were doing, what all the machines were for, how long the flight would take and what would happen at the other end. They loaded Raffy into his flight pod, put his little earmuffs on and took him away to the helicopter. Before they left, the Doctor travelling with Raffy knelt down in front of me, took both my hands looked me in the eyes and said, ‘we will take so much care of your baby’.

Bevan and I went home to get a few hours rest before driving up to Hamilton and I will never forget standing in the kitchen hearing a helicopter fly overhead knowing that our baby was inside.

Once Bevan and I arrived we went to find Raffy in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. If you’ve never been into a neonatal ward, it is pretty terrifying. Lots of incubators, wires, beeping machines, and babies so tiny that it’s hard to believe they are real.

Raffy was in an incubator by the window. We were met by a lovely nurse who explained everything to us, what the machines and wires were for, what the Doctors had found, when they would be coming to see us, where all the things we would need for Raffy were and much much more. She was so kind and made us feel instantly a little more comfortable in what was a very alien situation.

While we were staying in Hamilton everything was sorted out for us. We had a motel booked for us, carparking paid for, meal vouchers, I was assigned another midwife, we were offered councillors, a lactation consultant and I was given pumping equipment. We needed to worry about nothing apart from Raffy.

What followed were a few intense weeks of Raffy recovering from what was diagnosed as Hirschsprung’s Disease - a rare disease meaning the colon doesn’t function correctly. After a successful operation plus a few months of aftercare thankfully he has 100% recovered and has no lasting effects from the disease – we were one of the lucky ones.

While we were staying in NICU we saw some heartbreaking things. One little baby had his first birthday there, others were looking at months. We were only in there weeks.

The cost of this type of care is HUGE and without it our situation would have been very different. I’m not writing this to get sympathy or tug on your heart strings. I’m writing it to make you aware of what an amazing organisation there is available to those who need it and asking, if you can, to make a small donation to help future families get the same kind of care and support as we did.

Funds raised will be split between The Neonatal Trust and Taranaki Air Ambulance Trust.