Honor’s Story

Honor’s Story

During a seemingly normal pregnancy, Beckie found out at 30 weeks that her baby would need to be delivered in Southampton and receive specialist care for a rare condition affecting the lungs. Her family went on to spend 6 weeks in Isaac’s Pad while Honor was cared for.

At 30 weeks pregnant I had a routine scan and didn’t experience any problems at all up until that point. But staff realised that our baby had a ‘diaphragmatic hernia’ which is a really rare condition which can prevent lungs from developing properly. It requires surgery to move organs back and close the hole. I was flown to Southampton Hospital to have the diagnosis confirmed. At that stage, they said I would need to deliver our baby back in Southampton when the time came, as she would need to be intubated and sedated. We also didn’t know at what stage surgery would be needed. I returned to Guernsey, knowing that there was a lot more to come. 

It was at 37 weeks that I was flown back to Southampton with a midwife. I spoke with Ali Lihou from the PPBF who was amazing, and such a comfort and reassurance for us. There was a family who had been in Isaac’s Pad for quite a while so my husband and I went through the process of looking for alternative accommodation as there was only one PPBF flat at that time. We’d not heard of Ronald McDonald House and the thought of being put up in a hotel caused a lot of anxiety and worry. I remember the family staying in Isaac’s Pad were able to go home and we moved in around 2-3 days later which was amazing for everyone. 

There was no reason for me not to go full-term, so we just had to wait and see. We tried to make the best of the situation, and I was going into the hospital almost every day for check-ups. The plan was for me to be induced at 39 weeks. I was monitored, and that’s exactly what happened after 2 weeks in the flat. When I was induced, I could go back to the flat, my husband and I tried to relax, and I went for a bath. It was lovely to begin my labour outside of the hospital as, if I had been at home under normal circumstances, that’s exactly what I would have wanted to do. The hospital was happy for that as we were staying so close, and it was a bit of normality for us. 

The flat really came into its own when Honor was born. Honor had to be intubated and sedated straight away at birth and then monitored until her first operation at 3 days old and 2^nd operation at 10 days old. That was a shock as the plan was for only one procedure, but it didn’t go to plan. We were lucky that my mum could be with us – she stayed at the flat, waiting for the phone call and was with us 10 minutes after Honor’s birth which was such a comfort when she was whisked away to intensive care. 

During the following week, the flat was just amazing for us. Whenever we got phone call updates telling us that Honor had a good night, a bad night, surgery was taking longer or there were complications, we could wait in the privacy of the flat and be with her in just a few minutes. Being sore and bruised, I was so grateful that I didn’t have to walk far at all. My husband set his office up in the dining area too, so he could work from home. I was also expressing so I could do that in the flat and then take the milk straight over for Honor. 

Not only was my mum able to stay with us, but it also gave us a personal hub / central meeting place where other family members could come and visit during our total of 6 weeks in Southampton. We were incredibly lucky not to be alone and always had support with us, in the privacy of the flat. Hospital visits were very strict for intensive care and only 2 people were allowed in at a time, with 1 needing to a parent. Again, the flat was useful when one of us needed to wait for the others to get back from seeing Honor. 

As Honor got stronger, she was allowed to come and stay in the flat with us 2 nights before she was discharged. She still had all her monitors on, and it really gave us confidence as new parents that we could take her to our little home and nothing scary was going to happen before we made the full journey back to Guernsey.

The whole traumatic experience would have been so much harder without Isaac’s Pad and being able to have family stay over thanks to the spare room was a huge support for us. The flats are an asset for Guernsey’s community, and I can’t stress enough how much of a difference it made.

Our trio of flats are located within 100 steps of the entrance to Southampton Hospital, for Guernsey families to use for free when their baby or child is poorly. When you Buy-A-Night, you are helping to keep our doors open for more families like Beckie’s. You can also make general donations to other aspects of the PPBF’s work here including Baby Boxes and neonatal equipment for Guernsey’s Hospital.