“The NICU team helped us through the hardest weeks of our lives. We laughed together, cried together, and got through it together.”
Holly and her partner Ben welcomed identical twin girls Hope and Harper at just 31 weeks in October 2022. The pregnancy was tinged with worry after the couple were told that Hope was unlikely to survive. After spending six weeks in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Burnley General Teaching Hospital the twins came home.
She said:
"The nurses in NICU are angels. The level of care and support I received from them and the whole midwifery team at Burnley was above and beyond. They are amazing and I’ll never be able to thank them enough.
When Hope was delivered everyone in the room expected the worse – instead, she shocked and delighted us all by coming out kicking and screaming.
She weighed a tiny 2lbs 3oz but was clearly a fighter. Harper followed two minutes later weighing just 3lbs 3oz.
The NICU team took them under their wings and although it was scary seeing the twins covered in wires and attached to monitors, the nurses explained everything and reassured us they were going to be OK.
It was heartbreaking going home without them, but every day I was at the hospital.
I was up and down but the nurses kept reassuring me they were getting stronger by the day, and when they weren’t caring for the twins, they were forcing me to eat! They even sent me messages in the evening and over the weekend to check in.
The days our daughter Ellisia, five, visited the nurses made such a fuss of her. Nothing was every too much trouble for them.
When Harper was allowed home first one of the nurses, Rebecca, crocheted two hearts with Hope and Harper on and wrote a poem ‘from Hope’. It was so special and kind. I was overwhelmed.
When Hope was finally allowed home, it was an emotional day, but I take them back for regular check-ups.
The twins are doing great and one day I will tell them all about the angels who cared for them, and me. We’ll never stop being thankful."