<div>Earlier this year, our lives changed instantly when I became critically poorly and our baby boy had to be delivered at 25 weeks gestation, 15 weeks premature. We were told to expect the worse but miraculously he came out crying and a team of 5 from the Neonatal intensive care unit, worked their magic and managed to intubate and stabilise him. He showed us from day 1 what a warrior he was and would be.
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<div>If I hadn’t been an inpatient at Birmingham Women’s Hospital then the outcome for us both could have been very different.
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<div>Suddenly we were thrown on to the rollercoaster that is the NICU experience. A rollercoaster both Lewis and I naively knew nothing about. It was a rollercoaster that we didn’t know when would end, or how many ups and downs there would be, nor how steep they would be. All we were told was that we were going to be in it for the long run and we had to prepare ourselves for every eventuality.
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<div>Due to the nature of the medical emergency that was Louie’s birth, Lewis arrived at the hospital with nothing. No clothes, no toiletries, no food. Just our 2.5 year old daughter who he frantically had to hand over to my auntie in the hospital car park and run in to theatre to be with me.
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<div>I should say now that Birmingham Women’s is at least a 90 minute journey from our home in Herefordshire. He just made it. And it was by complete chance that my auntie happened to visit me that day.
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<div>Once I was stabilised in theatre and moved to HDU, Lewis was told that he could go and meet our baby on the NICU unit. So off he went, not knowing what to expect.
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<div>He was shown down by the ward clerk to one of the intensive care rooms on the unit, Orchid, and there in bed 3 was an incubator hooked up to a ventilator, and fluid machines, containing our tiny 490g baby boy, Louie. The incubator was covered and had a blue light above it shining down on Louie, who was receiving phototherapy for jaundice, his little eyes covered by an eye mask. His nurse, who was solely looking after Louie, explained some details to Lewis, which went in one ear and out of the other, it was all too much to take in. Lewis came back up to HDU to tell me Louie was still alive and with that he curled up to sleep on a chair next to me and I drifted in and out of sleep high on morphine. Not the first couple of euphoric hours you expect straight after having a baby.
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<div>The next day was a blur, I was in considerable pain, still high as a kite on morphine but we had to start sharing news with family as to what had happened the night before. Ellie now had a brother, grandparents now had a grandson and aunties and uncles now had a nephew. But sharing the news, not knowing if he was going to be strong enough to make the next 24 hours was incredibly difficult.
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<div>The day passed quickly, Louie was stable and suddenly it was night again. Louie’s nurse that night took one look at Lewis and could see how exhausted he was. She then said to Lewis that there is accommodation for families who live far away, based in a portakabin located just outside of NICU, called The Willows. With that she arranged for Lewis to have a room, which meant he had a bed to sleep on that night. He was given a key, and 2 bags full of food and toiletries, to help us get through the next few days. The food and toiletries are provided by a variety of ways. Through the food bank, corporate donation (Aston Martin had just donated a load of toiletries) and with the help of an incredible charity based on the unit, Noah’s Star.
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<div>After a few more days on HDU and being on the post natal ward (another awful experience when you are surrounded by mums and babies), I was discharged and joined Lewis in The Willows. It was then when the reality hit that this was now our lives, for about 4 months. How would we do this when we have our daughter at home? The first 6 weeks, whilst I was still recovering, my parents raised Ellie at our home, with Lewis and I popping home for the odd afternoon when Louie was stable enough, to do pre school pick up, dinner and bedtime, and then drive back to the hospital. It was beyond heartbreaking and I can’t explain the amount of tears that were shed in that period of time. We couldn’t see any light at the end of the tunnel and craved our ‘normal’ family life back, to be together, in our home. The most mundane things, like doing a clothes wash, became something that I craved to do, a bit of normality.
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<div>The clothes wash was also an important necessity. Obviously to wash our clothes, but by day 10, Louie started wearing premature vests. His bed was also made out of several muslins, blankets and contained bonding squares (to allow him to smell Lewis and I). It was important that everything in his incubator was kept as clean as possible, with all clothes and muslins being changed at least once in a 24 hour period, and had to be washed after they were purchased, before they were used. This turned into a logistical challenge as there were no washing facilities at the hospital. We also didn’t know how often we would get back to do the washing. This meant that everything had to be purchased in vast quantities to allow for long periods of time when no washing could be done. Extra expense which really wasn’t required at already a difficult time.
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<div>You also have probably never seen any premature clothes out on the rails in shops. It doesn’t happen. So, everything has to be ordered online and wait for the delivery. Ideally we would have ordered clothes to be collected from the nearest Sainsbury’s or Next, which were a 15 minute walk from the hospital, but as there were not any washing facilities available to us, we had to arrange for delivery to our home address and then do a quick wash and tumble dry when we were next home to allow us to bring the clothes back to the hospital.
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<div>On one of the very rare occasions I was at home, Ellie was at pre school and the sun was shining, I made myself go to a local farm shop and cafe for a coffee. This cafe meant a lot to us as a family in the short time we had lived in Herefordshire. It was a place we had visited on a holiday we had in the Autumn before we moved, which made us fall in love with the area, we have had some lovely family dinners there and where I visited multiple times throughout the incredibly difficult pregnancy, often crying, not knowing what the future was going to hold. It has a lovely outside sitting area, it’s so peaceful and has gorgeous views of the Herefordshire countryside. It’s also a great sun trap. Just what was needed after living in a hospital. Thank you Newton Court - you don’t know it but you have been our sanctuary. 
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<div>My brain very rarely switches off, in fact never, and normally some point switches to work and thinking about ways to increase business, ideas and opportunities. However in the mental state I was in, work was the last thing on my mind. Instead, I started thinking about how we could help other families who also very unexpectedly join the NICU rollercoaster. That is when I came up with the idea of ‘Louie’s Laundrette’.
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<div>After having discussions with the facilities and family coordinator at Birmingham Women’s Hospital, we are launching a fundraising campaign to establish washing and drying facilities for NICU families. This will be an area for all families who have a baby in the unit, not just ones who live further afield, to do all of the babies washing and drying whilst families are onsite at the unit. A job which can be done in between expressing, caring for the baby and something to take a mind away from what could be a difficult day. No more travelling back and forth with dirty and clean laundry, no more having to purchase vast amounts of clothes and muslins and no more spending time at home doing washing when you could be resting or spending time with other family members or children.
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<div>We are also going to set up a seconds clothes area within the laundrette. Premature babies grow out of their clothes very quickly! And sometimes there is a need for clothes quickly and parents don’t have the opportunity or time to wait for the clothes to be delivered. This will allow for parents to donate any clothes they no longer want with the knowledge that another family will benefit.
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<div>We know that times are tough for everyone but if you do have anything to spare to help a cause which is incredibly close to our hearts, we would be so appreciative. As I’m sure other NICU families will be.
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<div>The NICU rollercoaster is one that I hope you, as a reader, do not have to ride, or indeed know anyone else who joins it. It’s like no other ride and one that you can’t relate to unless you have also been on the journey. In the unfortunate situation that someone has to join the ride, please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you need to chat about anything, or please pass my contact details on to anyone. If you ever have any friends or family in a NICU situation offer them microwave food, Costa vouchers and a phone call. That is the best help.
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<div>We’re hoping that we are going to disembark from our rollercoaster soon, with Louie now in Hereford special care unit and doing extremely well. We will then join a different ride, having a NICU baby at home. We have no clue what that will entail but we’re optimistic that our hardest days are behind us.
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<div>Birmingham Women’s Hospital will always hold a very special place in our hearts. It is where we have experienced our darkest days, but also some of the best days when Louie hit a milestone. The staff are unexplainably fantastic. They literally held us when we thought we were losing Louie, they made us laugh, they educated us on all of the equipment and care that a NICU baby requires and gave the most exceptional care to Louie. They also made the biggest fuss of Ellie when she visited. Louie had over 60 different nurses care for him, and around 10 different consultants. And they are all diamonds. Not forgetting the ward clerks, cleaners and ‘milk nurses’ who asked daily how Louie was and provided so much support to us. We cannot wait to return with Louie to thank them all.
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<div>Lastly, we cannot explain how grateful we are to our family and friends for all of the support that has been provided to us over the last 4 months. We simply could not have done it without them.
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<div>Thank you again if you have read this far and we will of course keep you updated on the progress of Louie’s Laundrette.
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Jelena Vjetrovic

Paul Giroud

Claire Wartel

Jonathon Whittingham-Smith

Ben Hayllar

Amy Sibley

Susannah Lindsay

Anonymous

Kath Shenton

Dora Dutfield

Rose-Anne and Mike Williams

Kate Tromans

Martin Chamberlain

Jane Rowland

Maria Williams

Vincent Mann

Ryan Eckloff

Susan Stickney

Laundrette Facilities for Birmingham Women’s Hospital NICU

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Laundrette Facilities for Birmingham Women’s Hospital NICU

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