BOYS O BOYS!
THE world outside may have come to a virtual standstill, but for the maternity unit of Our Lady of Lourdes hospital, it’s very much business as usual! One of the busiest units in the country, babies don’t stop for anything, so the nurses, midwives, doctors, and many other staff on the wards have been flat out since the start of the lockdown making sure everyone is safe and healthy during these troubling times.
And one very grateful mum is Jessica Gallagher who says the hospital has been fantastic after her sons, James and Louie, were born 11 weeks early. But it’s been a long wait for husband David and their big brother Ollie to see the new arrivals.
‘I WAS VERY UNPREPARED AS I WAS AT HOME ALONE WHEN I WENT IN TO LABOUR’
THE last time David Gallagher got to hold his twin baby boys, they were 12 days old and tiny, as they came into this world almost 11 weeks early.
The COVID-19 restrictions kicked in shortly after, and the pair are still being cared for in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
Now ‘ big busters’ at seven weeks old, James and Louie’s mum Jessica gets to hold them once a day and can’t wait to get them home.
“I’ve been completely isolated so I can see them but it’s so hard for my husband and threeyear-old son Ollie who can’t see him,” says Jessica, who is from Lusk and lives in Stamullen. “I was very unprepared as I was at home alone with Ollie when I went into labour, and I had to ring the ambulance by myself and find someone to look after him. And with everything that’s going on, it was very scary.”
But she said from the minute she got to the Lourdes, her fears melted away.
“The staff are amazing, and they have become like family to me, as I can’t see my own at the moment,” she says. “I know they do the same for hundreds of babies, but they honestly make you feel like you are their top priority and you can hardly see the pressure they are all under.”
Another thing she is very grateful for is the access she has to the boys.
“They give me as much time as they can, and they let me make little videos so I can show David and Ollie how they are doing, and they won’t miss too much,” says Jessica. “I’m scared to be bringing them back home soon, as they have been so protected and looked after here, and I won’t have staff to help, but I am also really excited too, and I will feel safe in my own house, and even though I had planned to have them in the Rotunda, this has worked out better and easier to travel from home.”
Her older son was born in the Rotunda and she says she misses having so many visitors this time. “But I am so grateful to everyone in the Lourdes for looking after us all so well.”