‘He weighed less than a bag of sugar’
Katie Jenkins, 32, from Preston, Lancashire, was looking forward to becoming a mum. But then, at 25 weeks, she went into labour…
‘I’d wrapped the box in glittery paper and when my husband Kadian came home, I was waiting. “What’s this?” he said. Tearing it open, he saw the positive pregnancy test and his face broke into a smile. “Are you…?” he began, and I nodded. “We’re going to have a baby,” I replied. He pulled me into his arms, overwhelmed with happiness.
Kadian and I had been married for two years and were looking forward to starting a family. Our baby was due on 9 May 2019, but on 26 January, four months early, I woke up with pains. We went straight to hospital where doctors confirmed I was in labour. “No!” I cried. This couldn’t be happening. I was only 25 weeks into my pregnancy and the baby could be too small to survive.
But there was nothing the doctors could do to slow my labour, and I was taken in for an emergency Caesarean on 29 January. I was sedated, but I could see the anxiety on Kadian’s face. As surgeons operated, he clutched my hand, and then I heard a nurse saying we had a boy. We named him Jeremiah, but he weighed just 1lb 6oz – less than a bag of sugar – and he was taken straight to the neonatal ward and placed in an incubator. We were told he only had a 50% chance of surviving and we waited desperately for news.
While our baby had suffered a bleed on the brain, I was also suffering after my placenta ruptured and I contracted sepsis. As I lay in my hospital bed,
I willed my little boy to pull through.
Days blurred into weeks. As soon as I was strong enough, I sat by my son as he lay on a ventilator. “He’s a fighter,” said Kadian, and I prayed he was right. After weeks spent holding Jeremiah’s tiny hands, the doctors said he could come home. He finally left hospital two days before his due date, on 7 May, weighing just over 6lb.
Being on a ventilator for so long meant Jeremiah’s lungs were damaged, and even now, we still don’t know what the long-term effects of this will be, but we’re just so thankful he pulled through.
Our families have been amazing, reassuring us through our worries when Jeremiah doesn’t feed well or catches a cold. He’s nine months old, but is the size and weight of a five-month-old. In every other way he is a very happy baby. He loves making dinosaur noises, and rarely cries.
This is his first Christmas and it will be so special. I have bought matching Christmas pyjamas for the three of us and we’ll all wear them on the day and unwrap our presents together.
Jeremiah hasn’t had the easiest start in life, but we are so lucky we have him. And although the last year has been challenging, it’s also been full of hope, love and infinite gratitude.’
‘He hasn’t had the easiest start in life, but we’re so lucky to have him’