| Baby Ben Robertson arrived 16 weeks early on February 15, weighing just 1lb 3oz, and faced a series of problems.
Now he nudges a healthy seven pounds and is preparing to start a normal life with his family.
“I had a lot of ups and downs with Ben,” said mum Kerri Flynn (40).
She even spent Mother’s Day travelling through with her baby to Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children at Yorkhill where specialist paediatric surgeons prepared Ben for intricate heart surgery.
“Mother’s Day was horrible,” said Kerri, who at that stage, had no guarantee her small son would survive.
“Because he was born early, his heart duct didn’t close. When you give birth, the baby’s heart duct is supposed to close automatically but his didn’t.
“That meant all his blood was going the wrong way and not going to the organs it should.”
After a few days in the Sick Kids Hospital, Ben was transferred back to Ninewells’ neonatal unit where he has been cared for since he was born.
The infant also underwent a laser operation on both eyes at Ninewells.
“The treatment burned away blood vessels at the back of his eyes,” explained Kerri. “Then a couple of weeks ago he had another operation on two hernias.”
Under-developed lungs and difficulty breathing is a common problem in premature babies.
“He will be coming home on oxygen,” said Kerri, who has been trained to operate the equipment and will be supported by a specialist nurse who will visit the family’s Ardler home while Ben is being gradually weaned off oxygen support.
She praised the help the whole family has received from the specialists and nursing staff at Ninewells and in particular those in the neonatal unit, which cares for the tiniest and most sick babies.
“They have been brilliant, really, really good,” said Kerri.
She is looking forward to taking Ben home to big sister Ellie (9), a pupil at Ardler Primary School and the children’s dad, Jason Robertson.
She expects normal family life to resume after a hectic few months shuttling between home and hospital.
Kerri stayed in the Ronald McDonald accommodation for parents in Ninewells for about a week after Ben was born but was torn between her children.
She said, “I came home because my daughter needed me at home and made the trek up to the hospital twice and three times a day.”
But now doctors have agreed Ben can go home and the family are looking forward to a normal routine again. |
