Mother thanks ‘amazing’ NICU team for unwavering support after the heart-breaking death of one of her twins
The mother of premature twins has reunited with the “amazing” NHS staff to give them a heartfelt thank you for their care they provided to her precious babies whilst in hospital.
Alison and Jon Elliott, from Alestree, welcomed their twins, Hamish and Hattie, into the world 10 weeks earlier than expected, on 16 May 2020, after Alison had been quite ill in pregnancy with gallstones and pancreatitis.
Due to their prematurity, the twins spent the first part of their lives in our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Royal Derby Hospital.
Alison, who also works at Royal Derby Hospital as a Data Quality Officer, said: “Unfortunately, exactly a week after having my babies, I had another pancreatic attack and was admitted to hospital myself. To begin with, I was able to come down and see them, but then I got sepsis and was too ill. In this time, the nurses would come to my ward and deliver get well cards from my babies, with photos and footprints and they would me write letters from them. To me, this was above and beyond their role, it meant the world to me, when I couldn’t be with them.”
Once Alison had her gallbladder removed and built up her strength again, their daughter, Hattie, heartbreakingly died at just 4 weeks old from sepsis.
Alison said, “The staff kept us in the loop through the whole process, but we got the dreaded call at 11pm that we needed to come to the hospital. They worked so hard to save her, but sadly there was nothing they could do. They did bring my son down in his cot, from the nursery, just before Hattie passed, so I could hold my babies hands at the same time and we were all together – I cannot tell how much I will treasure that moment.
“The staff thought of everything, even though I know they found the situation upsetting themselves. They let me hold my daughter for her last breaths and then gave us a camera, so we could capture every moment – which was the best idea, but something I would never have thought of. One nurse – Louise, even held my hand whilst I called my mum to tell her what happened.
“We were given a room, where my husband, son, daughter and I could be together – which was amazing. They showed us how to bathe our daughter and help us pick out an outfit for her. We even got a lock of her hair to take home with us. The following day, they allowed our parents to visit so they could meet their granddaughter for the first and last time.
“When it was time to say goodbye, Hattie’s nurses came to say their goodbyes, which was so thoughtful, they even let us walk Hattie in a pram to the mortuary – which meant everything to us – especially my husband.”
Alison and her son, Hamish, joined Phil Bolton, Director of Nursing to present the NICU team with a Team UHDB Making a Difference Award to thank them for the support they had provided herself and her family with.
Phil said: “The wrap around care that the NICU team has provided at the time, since and ongoing, really is outstanding and you should be really proud – you’re a fantastic team providing exceptional care to families.”
Karen Sampson, NICU Senior Sister, said: “It’s always such a privilege to be able to support a family in this way. Our NICU was the only home that Hattie had ever known, and it was an honour, despite the covid restrictions, to be able to support this family on their journey.”
Upon presenting the award to the team, Alison said: “I truly believe the staff of NICU are amazing – they would always say they were just doing their job, but in a pandemic when you can’t have your family around you, they were everything – and the small touches of the cards and letters when I couldn’t see them and making all the crafts for treasured memories were above and beyond. They will never know how grateful we are to them and there is definitely not enough thanks and praise I can give them.”