New parents Lou and Garry, from Parkes, have been on a rollercoaster ride since the birth of their son, Henry, in September 2021. Born at 24 weeks, during the Covid pandemic, Henry weighed just 560 grams.
Our House Car Sponsored by Hyundai ‘Help for Kids’ is named after Henry – read about his story here…
Lou and Garry were at a 22 week routine antenatal appointment at Parkes Hospital when they were told they needed to go to Orange hospital immediately to be assessed by an obstetrician. Lou was admitted in Orange that night and Garry was offered a room at Ronald McDonald House Orange so that he could stay close to his family.
“All sorts of things start going through your mind, it’s quite daunting. The Ronald McDonald House Orange staff and volunteers were great to speak to about it. One volunteer’s husband was also born at 24 weeks and he is 70 now. He would have been a miracle baby back then. It was quite uplifting to hear” said Garry.
Orange Hospital wanted to monitor Lou and put her on bedrest. Luckily, she was able to join Garry at Ronald McDonald House Orange, which is on the hospital grounds.
“They gave us a home and the volunteers made life easy for us. This was during Covid and the volunteers made meals for us so we didn’t have to go to town and risk exposure. It meant Garry could be in Orange be that support for me that I needed. It would have been a pricey stay without Ronald McDonald House, or Garry would have had to travel for two hours each way. It made the situation less stressful” said Lou.
Watch Lou and Garry’s beautiful video of Henry’s journey over the last four years.
In total they have stayed with Ronald McDonald House’s in Newcastle, Westmead and Central West in Orange for over 130 nights.
Henry was born the day after arriving in Newcastle. The doctors didn’t expect him to get through the first week but just over two months later Henry has doubled his birth weight and is developing his own personality.
“Having a premie baby is a long journey and we didn’t always know where we were going to end up, but it’s been made a lot easier with Ronald McDonald House and the staff and volunteers. There’s a lot of unknowns and they’ve made life a lot easier for us at a very unsure time” said Garry.
In the three years since, Henry no longer requires the added oxygen he once did, but visits to hospitals in both Orange and Westmead are still a regular occurence.
Henry has had to work hard to reach all his milestones, things that come quite naturally to others. But the hard work has paid off, with Henry having mastered all the skills of sitting, crawling, and walking. “He has become quite an adventurous toddler” Garry added.
“When he learns new skills, seeing him become proud of himself is so worth all the therapy and work we do” she added. “We are his biggest cheer squad. Despite some struggles and needing to work hard for goals Henry seems to put smiles on faces and brighten the day of anyone he is around”.
The next steps are for Henry to get ready for school. “Time is flying and it will be here before we know it” Lou said. “Henry is the most happy child, he is always willing to give something a try and with persistence has achieved so much more than what a lot of people had expected of him”.
