Welcome to our Tribute page.
Here, we remember with love the little ones who are no longer with us.
Thank you to the families for kindly sharing their little one’s stories with us.
‘There is no footprint too small that it does not leave an impact on this world’
Freddie’s Mam, Fran said ‘We spent 87 days on Ward 35 with our twins Sienna and Freddie after they were born at 27+2 weighing 760g and 780g respectively. This was the most terrifying time of our lives and we had so many ups and downs with both of our twins. Freddie contracted an infection at one week old and despite his fight he died at only 10 days old. I often struggle to put into words how difficult this time was for us as a family, it was and still is utterly heartbreaking and is something we will never fully understand or process. The only thing that made this time remotely manageable was the support of the doctors and nurses who took care of Freddie in his last few days. Lindsay was Freddie’s nurse and she supported us and our family through the final moments, finding the right words to say in a time when nothing felt right. She was there with us when Freddie died and spent the rest of the day bathing, dressing and taking care of him and us. That compassion and genuine kindness is something we will never forget. She continued to be there for support for the remainder of Sienna’s time on the unit and we will always be grateful for her care.’
‘Although Freddie was only with us for 10 short days, he made an impact on our lives that will last forever. From the first time I touched him he responded, he wrapped his tiny hand around my finger so I knew he would have grown to be warm and cuddly. When I had my first and only cuddle with him and Sienna he leaned into her and I imagined how much he would have followed her around and leaned on her for support. He was incredibly strong and fought so hard to be with us, he gave us a precious 3 days we wouldn’t have had without his strength.’
Diana was born at 23+6 at JCUH in April 2020. Unfortunately, at 2 weeks old she was diagnosed with NEC and transferred to the RVI. Despite trying antibiotics and then surgery, ultimately NEC took her life. Due to the COVID Pandemic, Diana’s family (apart from her parents) were unable to meet her in person.
Diana’s Mam, Amy said ‘The support from Staff was amazing and I’ll never forget the amount of love I felt on the unit. Tiny Lives helped massively from train fares to remembrance boxes, teddies and card for her siblings. I accepted grievance counselling and I honestly don’t think I could have survived that period with it.’
Olivia and Amelia were born at 22+3 weeks weighing just 440g at James Cook hospital. Amelia got transferred to RVI for an operation to repair a hole in her bowl when she was just 4 days old. Olivia was transferred when they were 2 weeks old so that she could be reunited with her sister. Unfortunately after suffering 3 operations to repair holes in the bowel, an operation to do a stoma, heart surgery and many other complications due to extreme prematurity Amelia passed away at 6 weeks old. Olivia had also endured heart surgery and many complications due to extreme prematurity and sadly passed away at 21 weeks old.
Fiona, Olivia and Amelia’s mam said ‘I don’t look back at my experience as a sad one. Don’t get me wrong it was the hardest time of my life going through what we did. However, this is where my family began and we will be forever grateful for the memories we made and the joy it brought us being able to be the family what we always wanted. I will never be able to put into words just how grateful we are to each and every person that helped make that possible. The nurses, doctors, consultants, physio, SALT, surgeons and more, we are forever in your favour for giving us a family to be proud of and to have experienced the chance of having our girls survive even just for a short time to feel that unconditional love that lives forever in our hearts. Thank you all x’
Rebecca, Lilly’s mam kindly shares her story. ‘I was taken into the ward on 9th January 2014. I was told my baby was ill and I was scared, but I must say the staff were amazing. After a day on the ward it was decided that my little girl was coming and I went for a C section. At 9.13pm Lilly Rose was born but sadly she was more ill than anyone knew. After 2 days of hard work from all the staff she sadly lost her battle and died in my arms on the ward. The staff were just amazing and went above and beyond to support us. They allowed my son to come and hold lilly, they allowed me to give her a bath and dress her and then let me stay over night to spend time with my little girl after she passed. I could not have asked for a better team of staff.’
‘While I was pregnant, Lilly loved it when I played music to her and if I shone a light onto my tummy she would find it and give a good kick. She was a Gary Barlow fan just like her Mammy!’
Laura’s Mam Helen had preeclampsia with convulsions and gave birth to Laura at 29 weeks via emergency c-section. She weighed 2lb 3 and both Laura and Helen were very poorly. Sadly, Laura passed away on the 18th September 1996. Helen went on to give birth to another daughter in 2006 at 29 weeks who is now 17 years old. Helen said ‘I just wish Laura was here, I’m very thankful to the unit for their kindness’.
Oliver was born in June, 2009. Oliver’s Mam, Louise said ‘Oliver was part of a non identical twin pregnancy and we found out at the 20 week scan that he had multi cystic kidneys and that he was very poorly and the outcome wasn’t going to be good. I had an emergency C-Section at 35 weeks. Oscar was born first healthy, followed by Oliver 5 minutes later, as you can imagine it was a terrifying time. On the Neonatal unit, the nurses were so kind in such a daunting situation, I could touch Oliver’s hand through the window of the incubator and then they got him out for me to hold all the while offering reassurance that he was comfortable. We had to have the difficult discussion with the consultant who explained that there was nothing that could be done for Oliver. We had to make the decision to end the life support. Even though he was only briefly on the ward, the compassion and care was second to none and I’ll always be grateful for that.’
‘Oliver made a huge impact on us all, I’ll never forget how strong his little grip was on my finger, he hung on and kept his twin brother safe and I’ll never stop missing him.’
Lara was born on October 31st 2022, alongside her twin sister Lucy. Sadly, she passed away four days later. Lara’s Mam, Jessica said ‘Our time on ward 35 was very emotional. Within 4 days we met our babies and lost one. The staff were so kind. They helped us through huge decisions. They showed me my partner nothing but love. I wanted to push Lara in a pram. The ladies made that a reality for me. We will never forget our time on ward 35.. A special shout out to Jane!’
Vinnie’s Mam, Laura said ‘I was pregnant with twins (Vinnie and Ava) and I made it too 27 week’s pregnant when I went into labour with Vinnie and then Ava. They were both rushed off to Ward 35 where they were both getting help to breathe. Unfortunately, Vinnie only lived for 11 days, and during those days and after the care our babies received from all the staff was amazing.’
Jaxx’s Mam, Abby said ‘Jaxx was born at 37 weeks, after a wonderful labour a very quick one at that (41 minutes) soon after Jaxx’s arrival he became very poorly with difficulty breathing. Jaxx was transferred to the ward for treatment and his health suddenly began to decline and snowball. Jaxx had lacked oxygen at some point during pregnancy, once born he then suffered with severe oxygen loss which impacted his lungs, heart and brain. The doctors started cooling treatment alongside other treatments and after several seizures it became obvious how poorly our little boy was and how little time we had left. Jaxx was dying. Nothing can prepare you for your world to be turned upside down so soon after giving birth. Even after everything we have gone through as a family and the loss of Jaxx, we couldn’t begin to thank ward 35 enough for their dedication to caring for families such as ourselves in horrific situations but also to the babies on the ward. They all worked so tirelessly around the clock with Jaxx, constantly making sure our needs were also met and we were as comfortable as possible. They informed us constantly about Jaxx’s treatment and what steps they would put in place if treatment began to fail. Every member of staff soon felt like family to us and they were always making sure we had support during our entire time on the ward. We were never alone there was always a member of staff to be with us.’
‘Jaxx was an absolutely beautiful little boy, with a mass of dark hair and beautiful big blue eyes. He was so tiny compared to his older brother those are the things we will cherish about Jaxx.’
We have support available for those families who were previously on Ward 35, no matter how long ago you were discharged. You can access mental health support here.
There is also a Bereavement Support Group for Families run by staff from the Neonatal Unit and supported by Tiny Lives. You can find more information here.
