A Week with a Neonatal Family Support Worker

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Monday

Today I collected Katie, Lauren’s mum, and took her to a full day of hospital appointments at Great Ormond Street Hospital. Lauren was born 13 weeks premature and spent a long time on a neonatal unit. She was finally sent home when she was six months old but, due to her chronic lung disease, she is constantly on oxygen on which makes travelling on public transport very difficult. Lauren’s dad works so Katie is unable to get to and from the hospital with Lauren, her oxygen tank and all she needs, on her own.

Once we got to the hospital, Lauren went straight in for her scan with Katie following. After the scan, Lauren was scheduled for an ultrasound followed by an appointment with neurosurgery.

As with most hospitals, appointments cannot always run on time and children and parents spend a lot of time waiting around for their allocated time.

Lauren and Katie were finally finished with all their appointments and I took the pair home at 6pm that evening. It’s a long day for anyone but especially for a mum and a small baby. Without my support Katie’s husband would have had to take a day off work or Katie would have had to battle on public transport with Lauren and all her equipment.

“Thank you again it was really nice of you to offer comforting words in the time I needed it”.

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