Thomas was born at home in a birth pool at 6.30am on Thursday 15th October 2015. His pregnancy, labour and birth had appeared entirely normal until he was born not breathing.
After birth Thomas was rushed to the Royal Berkshire Hospital (RBH) where he began to have seizures which were difficult to control. The doctors told us that he had been oxygen deprived for an indeterminate amount of time and initially didn’t think he would survive the day. Fortunately he was a candidate for revolutionary cooling therapy, which is where they cool the body to 33.5 degrees and keep it there for 72hours to prevent further brain damage and to promote repair.
This therapy took place in the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. Thomas spent a a week in their neonatal intensive care unit before being stable enough to transfer back to RBH. He spent a further 4 weeks in their Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) before being released home.
On leaving hospital his prognosis was grim. We were warned that he would likely develop cerebral palsy and may end up with severe physical impairments that would likely leave him wheelchair bound and unable to use any limbs. We were told that they did not expect him to ever eat orally, or to speak. That he may have profound vision, hearing and cognitive impairments.
He came home with a nasal gastric (ng) tube for feeding and an suction machine to clear the saliva out of his mouth for him as he had no swallow or gag reflexes. We had no idea what the future would hold for our baby or our family.
As you can imagine our whole life has been turned upside down, Thomas does have severe and potentially life limiting disabilities. However, he is doing far better than they initially predicted. He has started swallowing, we are looking at the possibility of some oral feeding in his future, he no longer needs suctioning. He has some limited use of his arms and legs which grows a small bit each day. He is mostly a happy little boy with a great sense of humour and determination like you wouldn’t believe.
We are charting his story, his journey here for all the people who love him and are cheering him on.
Team Thomas 