SEAHOLME resident Leanne Rajendran says son Aaron is a miracle baby.
At 29 weeks pregnant Mrs Rajendran was diagnosed with a rare and life-threatening condition called HELLP Syndrome. Just fifteen hours later Aaron was born.
Born nearly three months premature, Aaron spent 12 weeks in the hospital clinging to life.
“It was quite difficult leaving hospital and leaving him there it turns your world upside down because the hospital becomes a home, you spend all day and all night there by his cot side,” Mrs Rajendran said.
“The whole experience was overwhelming and terrifying. It all happened so quickly that I couldn’t make sense of any of it.”
Today both mother and child are healthy but Mrs Rajendran said she couldn’t have gotten through the experience without the support from the Miracle Babies Foundation.
“Right from an early stage I realised that the journey of a premature infant doesn’t end when they’re discharged from hospital.”
“As a parent I guess you find yourself both overwhelmed and unprepared, so it’s really important to have a good source of support and that’s what I found.”
Mrs Rajendran was so appreciate of the service that she is now a volunteer and the foundations Inner West Melbourne NurtureGroup coordinator.
“I really liked what miracle babies stood for, the name itself meant a lot because that’s what we all have – miracle babies and miracle children.”
“It’s a great source of support because you’re with people who understand, they’re going through it and they face similar issues most often.”
She encouraged other affected parents to come along and join the group.
“I didn’t understand fully the implications of having a premature baby was about. I didn’t fully appreciate what a journey it was going to be.”
For more information on the sessions contact miracle babies foundation on 9724 8999.