Royal Womens NICU

Our boy, Steele Zion, was the strongest tiny human I ever did know. He was born on the 11th of March 2023 at 25 weeks 4 days at the Royal Women’s Hospital in Melbourne. He took his first breaths on his own and started to cry straight away and he weighed in at 900g, far bigger than they thought he would. So we named him Steele because of his amazing strength.

During our time in Melbourne, I cannot explain just how unbelievably incredible the team at the Royal Women’s was. Every doctor, every nurse, every social worker gave us their absolute all and they cared for Steele in all the ways we couldn’t. As a mother, it is incredibly hard to stand by helplessly, not even being able to hold your child when they are so fragile and sick, and put your trust in other people that they will look after your child like their own.

Dave and I both know with every part of our hearts that the team at Royal Womens did absolutely everything they could to save his life and we will be forever grateful that they made such an incredibly horrific time in our lives, just that little bit easier. Steele passed away on the 7th of April 2023 surrounded by his family in a room full of love for him, facilitated by the amazing Royal Women’s team. Their genuine love and care for our family helped in so many ways, I can’t begin to describe.

I have started a Go Fund Me page that I hope if anyone can, they can donate even a few dollars to help the team there.

There’s lots of things they need like cuddle chairs so everyone can cuddle with their babies at the same time instead of having to wait for the next available chair. This is so important when you only have such a short amount of time with your bubs. Blankets, tea, coffee, biscuits.

There were a few nights that we had to stay at the hospital when he was very unwell and they weren’t sure if he’d make it through the night and just a few little things would have really helped: pyjamas, tooth brushes, face wipes, new underwear the next day, moisturiser, body wash etc.

I will be making some “parent packs” to include all these with little notes for the parents to help in times of despair.

A few dollars can buy 100 tea bags or a snuggle mug for parents to use as they only have paper cups (way too small when massive quantities of coffee are needed). We hope to also gift anything the hospital needs to care for these little soldiers.

All in memory of our beautiful little creation. Hopefully we can help people who are really struggling in the name is Steele