Mum who lost baby after 12 days vows to help NHS
‘MIRACLE BABY’WARREN ARRIVED TO ‘OPEN OUR EYES TO QMC’S WORK’
A MUM who lost her “immaculate” baby boy after just 12 days hopes to honour his memory by raising money for the hospital and charities which fought for him.
Rachel Miller, 40 – who lives with her partner of 16 years, Glen Williamson, 51 – had eight miscarriages before “miracle baby” Warren Oakley Williamson was born on November 14 last year.
Before Warren was born Rachel – who has a 20-year-old, an eightyear-old and adopted a three-yearold in 2019 – planned to have a hysterectomy in March.
She had been suffering from Crohn’s disease – a debilitating inflammatory bowel condition – and the effects of the medication for many years, with flare-ups of the condition known to affect pregnancies.
However, the coronavirus pandemic prompted the cancellation of the procedure, and even though doctors told Rachel she may never carry a child again, she found out she was pregnant just a month later in April.
She said it had been “hard to acknowledge” the pregnancy at first, having lost so many before.
But Warren came into the world at the Queen’s Medical Centre 11 weeks early by emergency C-section, weighing just 2lb 3oz.
“We got to 27 weeks and I got out of bed and my waters broke,” Rachel, of Arnold, told the Post.
“But they gave him steroids to strengthen his lungs and we made it to 29 weeks.
“I then had an infection, but luckily Warren did not have this, and he came out breathing on his own. “It was fabulous.” Due to the ongoing pandemic and the limited visiting hours, Glen could not get to the birth in time because he had returned home to look after their children.
Rachel’s sister, Joanne Maddock, became her birthing partner at the last minute and Warren Oakley was born on November 14.
Because he was premature he was in an incubator, and Rachel and Glen could only spend around two hours per day with him.
But on the 11th day, Warren was rushed into emergency surgery because his bowel had ruptured. Despite the best efforts of surgeons, he died a few hours later.
“He was immaculate and everyone loved him,” Rachel added.
“They were looking to get him home by Christmas, and then we got a call that night saying he had collapsed.
“We got in and his bowels had ruptured and the next morning he was gone.”
Rachel now says she believes he came into their lives to “open our eyes as to what goes on in the Queen’s Medical Centre”, and to make sure the work the NHS staff do continues.
“The surgeon waited after their shift just in case they could get him into theatre again,” Rachel said.
“There is so much compassion in there. “Warren was the world to me and they knew that. “When he died they did his little handprints and footprints. “I was in no state to ask for these, but they did them anyway, and without them I would have nothing. “Because of his initials I called him my W.O.W. baby, and when they sent me his prints they signed off the card with W.O.W. because they knew what it meant to me. “When Warren came back from theatre and his kidneys had stopped working, the nurses were supposed to shift-change at 7.30, but they refused to go home. “He had 14 drips on him in the end, they threw everything at him and the doctors would not go on their breaks because they were trying everything to keep him going. “I do not want people to go through the things we did without all those things at the hospital. They work well above their pay level.
“All the staff walk around with smiles on their faces no matter what has just happened. They gave my eight-year-old a book to help him understand, and after reading that he asked for a Christmas tree outside so Warren could see it from heaven. They are all fantastic.”
Joanne has set up a Gofundme page to help raise money for neonatal services and baby loss support charities such as Zephyr’s.
Joanne said: “We would like to raise a little money for the neonatal intensive care unit, the nurses who were involved in helping Warren with his fight and stayed with him hours after their 12 hour shift had finished.
“These are amazing people who do an amazing job, 365 days of the year, and we hope we can give them something back to show them how appreciated they are.”
The doctors would not go on their breaks becausde they were trying everything to keep him going Rachel Miller