The parents of premature twins who were cared for by the neonatal team at the University Hospital of Wales have written a heartfelt letter of thanks to the people who looked after them. Very sadly, baby Munir lost his battle for life but will always be remembered dearly by both his family and the nurses and doctors on the UHW neonatal unit. His sister, Mervat, is now at home and doing well.
Murnir and Mervat’s parents have allowed us to use their letter of thanks as part of our Tiny Lives Appeal to emphasise just how important the neonatal unit.
If you would like to make a donation in support of our appeal to raise money for life-saving equipment and family facilities, visit our Tiny Lives Appeal page.
Dear NICU nurses, doctors and staff- each and every one of you.
I don’t think you realise the impact you have had on our family. A mere ‘thank you’ does not seem enough for everything that you have done for us, but it’s all we have to give you.
• Thank you for rocking my babies when I couldn’t be with them at night.
• Thank you for teaching us to read the machines they were attached to.
• Thank you for helping me hold them without pulling out all their tubes.
• Thank you for letting me be involved in their cares even when it would double your work and you could have done it quicker than me.
• Thank you for being gentle with them when they were so fragile.
• Thank you for celebrating each millilitre of milk consumed, each gram of weight gained, and each breath taken without the breathing tubes.
• Thank you for encouraging me to pump for them and celebrating every drop of milk produced.
• Thank you for silently standing beside me as I cried tears of helplessness.
• Thank you for quietly closing the curtains to give me privacy when I needed to cry.
• Thank you for putting up with the endless phone calls even when you were busy.
• Thank you for making me feel like a normal mother at a time when I felt anything but normal.
• Thank you for celebrating the news of Mervat’s discharge.
• Thank you for crying with me and supporting me when Munir passed away.
• Thank you for making me look forward to coming in every day.
• Thank you for making each day that passed feel like another big milestone to celebrate, and another day closer to home.
• Thank you for telling me my babies were cute and beautiful even when they looked half-baked.
• Thank you for your patience with my endless questions.
• Thank you for taking the time to dress them in cute clothes and making their cots and incubators look pretty.
• Thank you for helping me get through the toughest experience of our lives. You were part of the reason we survived it.
• I don’t know most of what you have seen. I know you worried about my babies on a bad day and sometimes cried your own tears behind closed doors. I know that when the alarms were ringing and both our babies needed you, you were calm and focused.
• I hope you know I felt your hand on my shoulder. I hope you know that I was grateful to see your faces every morning.
• I hope you know how important each and every one of you was to us.
• My husband and I would spend hours talking about how amazing you all are.
• Although many names come to mind, it would be unjust to mention them here, as we do not want to miss a single who helped make our experience at NICU so wonderful. Thank you for helping us to where we are, we will be eternally grateful.
Not all angels have wings, some wear scrubs. You all truly are angels that walk this earth.
Lots of love
Ibah and Bara – Mervat and Munir’s mother and father.
