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New hospital technology allowed a father to see his 'miracle baby', who was born three months early and weighing less than a bag of rice, even after a visitor clampdown bought on by coronavirus.
A secure messaging application has been rolled out at the Tunbridge Wells Hospital neonatal unit, which enables parents to see their premature or sick baby via video, get updates from nurses and leave feedback for the team.
The service, paid for by a donation from supermarket chain Morrison, was piloted for three months and is particularly vital now, as in order to reduce the risk of spreading coronavirus, only one parent per baby is permitted to visit at a time.
John Allen and partner Allison Woods, from Kings Hill, had an uncomplicated pregnancy until Allison developed cramps in her stomach which led to an emergency caesarian.
Their son Rafferty was born at 26 weeks, weighing just 900g.
"It was quite traumatic for us both. I had to wait outside during the c section for about 20 minutes and I didn't know what was going on," John, a sergeant with the Metropolitan Police, said.
While Allison was unconscious, Rafferty was rushed to the neonatal unit, but once she woke up she was able to meet her son and touch him through a hole in the incubator.
Christmas, rather than being a joyful celebration was spent worrying about Rafferty, although John's older son Connor was thrilled to meet the new addition.
Rafferty developed necrotizing enterocolitis, a life-threatening condition for newborns, when the gut gets inflamed.
He was treated at a specialist hospital in Chatham and then returned to Tunbridge Wells, but the couple's problems weren't over.
They spent four weeks in The Royal Sussex County Hospital after a misshaped heart valve was identified.
"Every time I hear a 'beep, beep' it takes me back to being on the ward with Rafferty," John, 49, said.
In total Rafferty spent 102 days in hospital, including 65 at Tunbridge Wells and he was discharged on March 30, four days after the new visitor rules were bought in.
Before using the app, vCreate, John and Allison "would drive up to hospital in the morning and we wouldn't know what they would say when we arrived. We were anxious. Sometimes we would get good news and we would look for that glimmer of hope to carry on."
This changed when they were introduced to vCreate.
"We would get a text message saying we have got a new video of Rafferty and notes on how he's doing. We would know going up an hour later that we wouldn't arrive to someone saying 'we have got bad news'."
John says that being told about your baby's health is not the same as seeing your child and hopes more parents across the country can use the service.
"Just 30 seconds is enough, they send you a video of him kicking his legs and arms, he's moving, he's squawking, he's happy. He's doing everything a full term baby does."
"It's the little things you grip on to and pull you through to the next day.
"Especially now, I can't imagine being a dad and not being able to see your baby at hospital. You're going to want the mum there because she is breast feeding."
John was not able to visit Rafferty for three days because Allison, 43, who also works in the police, was living on the ward with him.
He said: "Nobody resents the hospital for doing it. Everyone understands but you want to have that contact and you want to be able to see they are okay."
'The statt were fantastic, it's a miracle he's here'
Rafferty now weighs just over seven pounds and is doing well.
"The staff were fantastic. It's a miracle that he's here," John said.
The pair expressed their thanks to the Morrisons Foundation, which donated £9,600 to Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust Charitable Fund. This will fund the new technology for two years.
Julia Moat, neonatal specialist matron, said: “Often parents have other children to care for and work commitments, so as much as they would like to be at their baby’s cotside 24 hours a day, that isn’t always possible.
“Thanks to this new service, our nurses can help reassure parents about their baby by directly sending video updates of their child from the neonatal unit to their smartphones. vCreate can also help families to become more involved in the care of their child, because they can see and ask questions.”
Sharon Sidebottom, community champion for the Maidstone Morrisons store, said: “With around one in seven babies born in the UK admitted to a neonatal unit each year, this new video messaging service will support and reassure many local families. The Morrisons Foundation is very proud to provide support to such vital work in our community.”
