Max’s Story (extract from a letter sent by a parent to the Rotary Club of Hall)
“On 18 July 2011 our world was turned upside down when our son Max was born two weeks early at Calvary Hospital. Max came out small, however screaming at the top of his lungs. It was not until about 10 minutes later that things started to go terribly wrong and it was clear that Max needed some serious medical attention. At 4 hours old, Max was transported by the ACT NETS Retrieval Team, to the NICU at the Canberra Hospital. At the NICU Max received life-saving attention and appeared to be connected to every machine the hospital owned!
Being thrown into the NICU world is something that a parent cannot describe to someone who has not experienced it. A world of angels, working tirelessly to save the lives of the region’s smallest and sickest of babies. Some babies are in just overnight, others for months on end. Max was in the Canberra NICU for 6 weeks until he was classified as ‘Grandpa Max’ and transferred with the ‘big kids’ to the Paediatrics ward. He stayed there for a further week and a half.
Having been in the NICU for six weeks, as parents we realised that there is much that could be done for the new NICU being built as part of the Women and Children’s hospital…”
Editor’s Note: As a result of this letter Hall Rotary raised $5,000 to furnish a Parents Room in the new Centenary Hospital for Women & Children.