Monday 6 December 2010

Graduation Day

Sunday was a really important day for us as a family. It was our local hospital's special care baby unit's Christmas Party, hosted by the Mayor of Bury. It is held every year, and children are invited usually the Christmas in the year following their discharge, so last year we weren't invited.

I was so excited to attend this year's party for many reasons. Our unit is still earmarked for closure, although now the decision has been postponed until February, so this year may well have been the last party. Also for me, it marked the end of Joseph's journey as a tiny, premature neonate, he has graduated and has joined the other children at the party.

I learned from one of the organisers that 300 babies pass through the unit every year, which is an amazing number, as the unit itself is rather small, 10 beds, with a couple of other rooms that can be used as well. That's a lot of babies. And of all the children gathered at the party, you would just never know that any of them had occupied one of these special beds.

Joseph looked a picture in his Ted Baker outfit, which I will get a picture of at some point! He enjoyed chasing the disco lights on the floor, doing the hokey cokey, and his most favourite activitiy in the whole world, eating cake!

Santa came, and he was very kind, and brought Joseph a Zingzilla microphone! Oh how we love the Zingzillas!

And now, I feel, that even if we never go to one of these parties again (but I do hope that they can continue on whether the unit closes or not), that our work is done.

It might have just been a kiddies Christmas party, but to me, it was a graduation ceremony.

Congratulations my little man, you have passed with flying colours!

1 comment:

  1. Congratulations Joseph (and Kylie)! This just totally blesses my heart.

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