The Little Lion - Rory's Story

It seems fitting to share a post about gratitude at the end of Baby Loss Awareness Week. Sadly, like all of us, I know many families who have lost a little angel. I've given our own little miracle an extra cuddle tonight on behalf of all those parents, as I'm sure many of you have done this week.   Which really does put things into perspective for this post.  Our family has had its own tough ride over the past three months. It has felt on occasion like every time we've taken a couple of steps forward, we'd encounter a setback. Fortunately however, things seem to have settled down and we're having a good run of things going to plan... I've probably just jinxed us now! Since opening up on social media we've received quite a few comments, both publicly and privately, about how we're managing to stay positive, so I thought I'd use this post to talk a little bit more about that.  Rory's Smiles For starters, just look at his little face! It's reall

Disclaimer One:  I should start this and every post with a disclaimer that any of the medical facts I discuss are mine and Pete's interpretation of what we've been told by doctors and nurses. They may not necessarily be 100% accurate as we have been overwhelmed with information, but are our best attempts at understanding the extensive details of Rory's illness and recovery. Disclaimer Two:  This post contains some upsetting photos that up to now we haven't shared. Please be prepared to see some graphic images of Rory's leg injury.  Development of the Extravasation Wound In my last post I described how the Extravasation injury was caused (a leak from an IO line), and how we originally expected the long term damage to be some discolouration or scarring.  During Rory's stay on NSU he received regular visits from the Burns Nurses who came to redress his leg (as the skin was being handled in a similar way to an extreme burn), as well as the Plastic Surgery Team who w

Disclaimer One:  I should start this and every post with a disclaimer that any of the medical facts I discuss are mine and Pete's interpretation of what we've been told by doctors and nurses. They may not necessarily be 100% accurate as we have been overwhelmed with information, but they are our best attempts at understanding the extensive details of Rory's illness and recovery. Disclaimer Two: This post contains some upsetting photos that up to now we haven't shared. Please be prepared to see some graphic images of Rory's leg injury and of him on ICU.  Rory's Story. The beginning.  The first nineteen days of Rory's life were wonderful. After an eventful but not overly traumatic birth we brought him home from hospital a couple of days later and, in the midst of the Covid quarantine, enjoyed daily life as a family of three in our cosy bubble. Rory met a handful of close friends and family through the window as per quarantine guidelines, and on a couple of occ

Hello!   Before I jump in, I suppose I should introduce myself and the reasons for starting this blog.  My name is Charlotte; I am married to Pete, we live in Grimsby, Lincolnshire (UK) and I have a career in Procurement which I adore. Pete and I love going camping, skiing, and hosting games nights with our friends. In July this year (2020), we welcomed our first baby; a gorgeous little boy named Rory Thomas (middle name in honour of my brother).  We had two perfect weeks at home until Rory fell ill at nineteen days old, and despite thinking that our world had already turned upside down on the day he was born, life really did somersault into next-level chaos following that fateful night in A&E. We have never known such an array of intense emotions; love, fear, anguish, hope, relief, sorrow, and joy, like we've experienced over the past eleven weeks.  Today as I write this, Rory is a few days shy of three months old. One week ago it was confirmed by Rory's surgeons that he&#