Our little miracle Eleia born at 24 weeks.

What we thought was going to be our first family holiday in Bodrum Turkey quickly turned into a nightmare that we are currently 9 days into.

On the 5th day of our holiday Selin began to feel really unwell and on the 7th decided it was the right decision to go to hospital to see what was going on.

upon testing we was made aware that Selin had contracted an infection and this had lead to her Cervix shortening. We was told not to panic and given antibiotics to help treat the infection and discharged.

later that evening the unexpected happened when Selins waters decided to break whilst putting our 1 year old Mila to sleep & she was rushed to hospital immediately.

When we arrived at the hospital we was made aware that labour had started and that Selin needed to be transferred due to the hospital not having the premature facilities to deliver the baby. Little did we know that the only hospital available was Denipol Hastahanesi a private one located 5 hours away in Denizli Turkey.

Selin was transferred by ambulance and taken into theatre right away, and in the early hours of 6th August at 3:12am baby Eleia entered the world at only 24 weeks old weighing 450g.

The expectance from the doctors was that our baby would be still born and that we would be extremely lucky if she survived the first 3 days.

The first few days were critical and welcomed constant bad news. Eleia was placed on 100% oxygen which sadly lead to her lungs leaking fluid. After stabilising her lungs we were made aware that Eleia too had an infection but also a minor brain bleed that needed to be treated right away.

Through all of the bumps we are now 9 days in & Eleia is currently in intensive care. However, she’s our little fighter and has began to thrive. She Has gained just under 100g now weighing 535g. She is now on minimum oxygen and is currently tolerating 1ml x 12 feeds a day with no help from the drip.

This is just the beginning of a very long road and we are kindly asking for any help to make this journey a little easier in order for us to cover all medical expenses / treatments, travel costs, accommodation & emergency flights back and forth should we have to.

The hospital have said that this is their first experience dealing with a baby this small and that nobody expected her to make it this far. She really is a miracle baby and any help to get her home will be greatly appreciated.

We expect this journey to last 3-4 months depending on how soon we are able to bring Eleia home and these expenses will help me as a father also support the family for this duration as in order to stay I may be forced to take unpaid leave.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story, please keep baby Eleia in your prayers. All updates will be posted on here.

Josh & Selin x