June Earlybird of the Month

Our Earlybird Premmie of the Month for June is the adorable Rory who was born at 25 weeks to parents Cathleen and Michael.

When Rory was born at King Edwards Memorial Hospital in Perth he weighed a tiny 530 grams.

“He needed breathing support, ventilation, eight blood transfusions and a chest drain,” Cathleen said.    “We just consider ourselves blessed that he has no ongoing serious issues.”

Cathleen’s pregnancy was completely healthy and normal, until signs of pre-eclampsia and severe intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) presented, meaning the umbilical cord stopped feeding Rory.

Rory spent four months in King Edwards Memorial Hospital, in which Cathleen and Michael spent as much time with him as possible. Michael was especially supportive, looking after Cathleen when she was worried about being unable to breastfeed.  “He was immediately a protective and loving daddy – reading stories and singing made up songs to Rory through the plastic walls of his incubator,” she said.

Cathleen holds close the memory of her first skin-to-skin contact with Rory where he burrowed into her chest at one week old.

Rory is now a thriving 19 months old and Cathleen and Michael would like to thank the incredible staff at ‘King Eddies’ who showed endless amounts of compassion, expertise and empathy in Rory’s road to recovery.