Worthing Mum To Run For Parents Of Premature Babies

Kerry Myles spent an agonising three months visiting intensive care after her son Alfie was born over three months premature.

She's since become a trustee of charity The Smallest Things to help raise money and awareness so that parents of premature babies aren't forced back to work with a sick child. 

She tells her story in a blog, which she writes for the charity she now works for:

"I was 23 weeks’ pregnant, having just had my 20 week scan and travelled to the USA for a five-day minibreak, when I was taken ill from the plane on my return journey home. I was admitted to hospital in Boston, Massachusetts at 23 weeks and 5 days’ pregnant where the palliative care team explained what might happen if I was to give birth then, four months earlier than my due date.

"After 16 long days in hospital on an emotional rollercoaster of false alarms and instability, my son Alfie was born very suddenly and traumatically at 26 weeks’ gestation, weighing just 2lb 2oz (1.01kg). Alfie was face-presented and severely bruised to the point that it was difficult to see any of his facial features. He suffered a very serious bleed on his brain and we spent an agonising 72 hours waiting to understand if he would be permanently brain damaged.

"After giving birth, I had to wait five hours before I was even able to see Alfie and was then returned to a hospital room on my own, unable to be with my newborn baby while the doctors tried to stabilise him. On Day 3 of Alfie’s life, I was able to hold him for the first time, but this was for less than 10 minutes as he was unable to keep his temperature where his skin hadn’t fully formed yet. 

"Most of my contact with him for the first few months was at three-hour intervals through the portholes of the incubator. He spent 50 days on oxygen and 88 nights in NICU where all I had was a teddy from his incubator to take home to bed with me each night."

During what she describes as a hugely 'traumatic' time, Kerry's employer supported her with an additional three months leave on full pay to reflect the time between Alfie’s due date and his premature birth. Without it she would have been forced to leave her job. 

She adds:

"Even with the additional time off, a large part of my maternity leave was spent attending medical appointments, trips back to A&E and regular physical therapy following Alfie’s brain bleed. I also underwent six months of trauma therapy throughout my maternity leave to help process everything that I’d been through."

For this reason Kerry is raising money for The Smallest Things by running from Brighton to Worthing and asking organisations to sign up to become an Employer with Heart.

It's 26km in total (as Alfie was born at 26 weeks) starting at 2am on Saturday, February 24 at the hospital and stopping at 5km intervals every three hours "to signify the times I was able to touch him in the NICU".

She has also planned stops throughout the journey with the support of various local businesses who are allowing her to rest and raise sponsorship money while on their premises.

The locations include Perch on Lancing Beach, The Cornerhouse in Worthing and Sea Lane Cafe. The Head of The Royal Alexandra Hospital in Brighton is also allowing her to start the run from the hospital, where her son is still receiving outpatient care. 

Kerry says:

"I wanted my organisation to become a Smallest Things Employer with Heart because 1 in 12 babies are born premature and there are parents suffering like I did every single day, but who also have the worry of their job and financial security to deal with on top of what is already an incomprehensible situation."

To read more or find out how to become a Smallest Things Employer with Heart, visit: https://www.thesmallestthings.org/employer-with-heart-for-parents

To donate: https://www.justgiving.com/page/kerry-myles-1694759200506