One more week off work with Alfie
Donation protected
Our little Alfie Bear was born on September 25th, 2017 with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia. This is a serious medical condition that affects about one in 2400 babies, and it's severity can't even be compared to a regular hernia.
At about 8-10 weeks gestation the diaphragm of a healthy baby completely develops across the chest, separating the chest cavity from the abdomen. In Alfie's case this didn't occur, and as a result he was left with a hole in the left side of his diaphgram which caused his stomach, spleen and bowel to move into his chest space. His heart was pushed to the right side of his chest, and due to the organs sitting in his chest his left lung was unable to develop and his right lung is smaller than it should be.
Alfie was ventilated and sedated immediately at birth so that machines can do his breathing for him while his right lung becomes stronger.
The repair surgery is done by moving his stomach, spleen and bowel back into his abdomen where it should be, and either using his own diaphgragm to close the hole, or sometimes a mesh patch is used instead. His left lung will then be able to expand and work with his right lung.
He is in the Neonatal Critical Care Unit at the Mater Mother's Hospital in South Brisbane where he is working on becoming strong and stable enough to have his repair surgery. We are reminded every single day by his nurses that "this is a journey, not a marathon" as we are told to sleep and look after ourselves to not burn out - which is easier said than done when you don't want to be away from your baby for even a second.
There is nothing harder in this world than seeing your child in such a vulnerable and critical condition and not being able to hold them for comfort.
Alfie is showing such a fight within himself and we are so incredibly proud of how strong and determined he is.
We have had so much support from family and friends during this difficult time and are grateful to know that there are so many people who are thinking of Alfie and sending positive thoughts to him.
It is really hard to reach out and ask people for help financially, as there are always people worse off than ourselves.
Alfie's dad is halfway through a two week break from work so that he can spend every single moment with Alfie during this critical time, and the realisation that he will need to be away from Alfie and the hospital to return to work in a week is daunting.
Unfortunately bills don't stop just because the work does, but our rent still needs to be paid, however it would be such a relief to us all if we could have one more week without the worry of work, so that we can continue spending all our time together with Alfie while he becomes stronger each day.
We look forward to being able to have our baby bear home with us once he is fully recovered, and then being in a position to help other people in return.
At about 8-10 weeks gestation the diaphragm of a healthy baby completely develops across the chest, separating the chest cavity from the abdomen. In Alfie's case this didn't occur, and as a result he was left with a hole in the left side of his diaphgram which caused his stomach, spleen and bowel to move into his chest space. His heart was pushed to the right side of his chest, and due to the organs sitting in his chest his left lung was unable to develop and his right lung is smaller than it should be.
Alfie was ventilated and sedated immediately at birth so that machines can do his breathing for him while his right lung becomes stronger.
The repair surgery is done by moving his stomach, spleen and bowel back into his abdomen where it should be, and either using his own diaphgragm to close the hole, or sometimes a mesh patch is used instead. His left lung will then be able to expand and work with his right lung.
He is in the Neonatal Critical Care Unit at the Mater Mother's Hospital in South Brisbane where he is working on becoming strong and stable enough to have his repair surgery. We are reminded every single day by his nurses that "this is a journey, not a marathon" as we are told to sleep and look after ourselves to not burn out - which is easier said than done when you don't want to be away from your baby for even a second.
There is nothing harder in this world than seeing your child in such a vulnerable and critical condition and not being able to hold them for comfort.
Alfie is showing such a fight within himself and we are so incredibly proud of how strong and determined he is.
We have had so much support from family and friends during this difficult time and are grateful to know that there are so many people who are thinking of Alfie and sending positive thoughts to him.
It is really hard to reach out and ask people for help financially, as there are always people worse off than ourselves.
Alfie's dad is halfway through a two week break from work so that he can spend every single moment with Alfie during this critical time, and the realisation that he will need to be away from Alfie and the hospital to return to work in a week is daunting.
Unfortunately bills don't stop just because the work does, but our rent still needs to be paid, however it would be such a relief to us all if we could have one more week without the worry of work, so that we can continue spending all our time together with Alfie while he becomes stronger each day.
We look forward to being able to have our baby bear home with us once he is fully recovered, and then being in a position to help other people in return.
Organizer
Shel Murdoch
Organizer
Morayfield QLD
