“Some of us arrive too early and for some of us, we didn’t get to stay”
On August 29th last year, while on holiday in Portugal, Sinead Hunter’s sister, Aislinn, gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. Thomas James Gabriel Latimer was born 15 weeks early and weighed just 758 grams.
“Thomas was a little fighter,” Sinead explains to Herfamily. “And coupled with the love of his parents and the amazing care he received from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Hospital de Faro in Portugal, had at 11 weeks developed significantly enough that he was transferred by air ambulance to a hospital in London, where Aislinn and her husband Tony live.”
Amazingly, after just two weeks in London, the family were told to prepare for Thomas being allowed to come home from hospital in just two-three weeks.
“Needless to say, receiving the excited call from my sister with the news, and helping her getting everything ready, from Moses basket and other bits, we were all just so utterly elated,” says Sinead. “On Friday that week, Thomas’ paternal grandparents came to visit him in hospital, and everything was going great.”
However, then suddenly, things took a turn for the worse. Thomas had contracted necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a serious intestinal disease which can affect premature babies, as many of their organs are not fully developed.
“That Sunday, Thomas was transferred to another hospital and had emergency surgery to remove the infected tissue,” Sinead explains. “Initially, it was thought it had gone well, given the circumstances, and follow up surgery was scheduled for the following week.”
On November 30th Thomas had his surgery, but devastatingly, the surgeon found the infection had spread with catastrophic consequences, and there was nothing more they could do for little Thomas.
“That afternoon at 3.50 pm all machines were switched off, and only a few hours later, at 8.05 pm, Thomas passed away in his mum’s arms. He was just 13 weeks and 1 day old.”
Feeling so helpless when it came to being there for her sister, and giving Aislinn and her husband Tony the support they need, Sinead decided she wanted to try and do something to both honor Thomas’ memory and give the entire family a greater sense of purpose.
“This is how the idea of a fundraiser and “Fashion Through the Ages” came about, Sinead explains about the event – a fashion show fundraiser – which is itaking place this Sunday, November 19th, at the Osprey Hotel in Naas. “The date was selected to coincide with World Prematurity Day on November 17th and also Thomas’s first anniversary.”
The money raised from both the event, as well as the GoFundMe page that has been set up will go to the Irish Premature Babies charity, the only charity in Ireland supporting the families of preterm babies and delivers front line services to families and supports the work of the neonatal care units around the country.
As well as this, a portion of the money raised from the event and GoFundMe page will also go specifically to Nascer Prematuro charities in Portugal, as the NICU at the University Hospital Center Faro was where little Thomas spent 11 of the 13 short weeks he lived.
For more information on the event, please check out the Fashion Through The Ages Facebook page, or go to Eventbrite.ie to purchase tickets to be there on Sunday.
The event includes a number of activities including musical entertainment, fashions shows, goodie bags, raffle and a memory wall.
Did you know that every year, over 4500 preterm babies are born in Ireland? Statistically, this equates to a preterm baby being born every 116 minutes in Ireland’s maternity units.
Happy World Prematurity Day to all these little fighters and their families.
