This week we bring you the amazing story of Teegan Greer and her partner Jonny McComb who raised an incredible £800 for TinyLife and the neonatal unit at Ulster Hospital after their own premature baby experience!
From the end of August until mid-November I set myself the challenge of a daily dunk to raise money to give back to those that helped us so much following the birth of our twins. I was often joined by friends at Portavoe to dunk and take part in my crazy idea! After a number of weeks I was advised to stop swimming however I had to do so with a bang so I asked all our friends and family who were mad enough to swim with us on Christmas Eve!
Robbie and Harper were born at 28 weeks following the perfect pregnancy. Robbie weighing 2lbs 8 and Harper weighing 2lbs 6 arrived by emergency C-section on 10/7/21
Unfortunately on 13/7/21, we lost our baby girl, Harper, due to multiple bleeds on the brain following extensive treatment, infusions, therapies, medication, and round-the-clock professional care.
The care that Harper and Robbie had throughout the time they spent in the hospital was incredible, it can not be faulted. We were going through the hardest and best time all at once, welcoming our beautiful babies and yet dealing with the trauma of losing Harper and trying to remain strong for Robbie.
Though at times I felt like all power was out of my hands and I had to just sit back and watch I knew I wanted to be able to do something for my little man fighting so hard in the incubator. This is when I was introduced to ‘TinyLife’, a charity I knew a little about through friends but had no real knowledge of what support I was about to receive.
First I had the loan of a breast pump and all the professional knowledge that came with it (to be honest I hadn’t even thought about breastfeeding/ any type of feeding as I thought I had a few more weeks to start planning and making these decisions) but I started to feel that I was helping my son being able to produce milk of my own for him was something so normal for most but gave me a little feeling of being able to be a mummy.
Then after 10 weeks, I was able to walk out those NICU doors with my son.
Soon after this, a message about baby massage came through and I was even a little shocked they remembered us! I couldn’t wait to join other mums who had been on a NICU journey and to spend some much-needed time with Robbie away from a hospital setting. To build our relationship and give us more opportunities to bond! during the first meeting, I can not deny I was anxious because I knew that our story was going to be shared and that I wasn’t able to hide my tears, however, I felt safe and secure and able to share them. Both myself and Robbie loved the first class and I knew right away that I would be back! The weekly sessions give me so much and because of this, we have now decided that TinyLife will forever be one of our supported charities so that they can continue the work that we have been lucky enough to receive!
Want to donate to TinyLife so they can keep up the amazing work they are doing for premature babies and their parents just like Teegan? Click here to donate now!
Want to find out more about the services available from TinyLife? Please click here to find out more!
