Vicki Cockerill - NICU MUM Blog

For those that follow me on social media will see that this week, I was faced with some criticism for a post I had written. The post was featured on The Mighty a few months ago, and has been shared via some heart/ CHD sites too. The post which you can read here: ( https://themighty.com/2016/12/congenital-heart-defect-people-asking-if-child-is-fixed/ )   was written about when someone asked a simple question about Elijah. Is he fixed? I politely answered, but in hindsight something was bothering me. It was the terminology. It was the realisation that no, my son will never be fixed. So, I did what I do with most things, I wrote to process how I was feeling at the time. It was not a discussion, it was not instruction to all other heart parents on how they should act when someone asks a question. I didn't demand a revolution that we all protest when someone dares ask us a question. It was a post about a mum who was struggling to come to terms with the reality of her son's conditio...

To you... The mum, dad or family member currently sitting in the NICU ward by your baby’s side wishing them to be home for Christmas. They had a good week last week, things were looking up, surely just one more week and you would all be home? Celebrati ng your first Christmas with your NICU graduate, getting to grips with your new baby whilst making your festive lunch and opening presents, breathing a sigh of relief that you were now finally home. As a family, you were in the place where you all belonged, it wasn't meant to be though was it? There have now been a few setbacks, the test results didn't come back as they should and further action is needed over the next week. The next week, which is Christmas. The stark reality is that you will be in NICU over Christmas. No amount of knitted Santa hats, tinsel on the display boards or the mock turkey dinner in the canteen will ever make it feel like a real Christmas. You feel sick just...