Pathway to Parenthood

Road to recovery

Its the following week and the parents are by Aurora's bedside , hoping that she will soon come home.

Aurora has been improving slowly over the last week, still nowhere near ready to come home but from what I've learned, any progress or improvement is great and I'll take that any day!

She's still incredibly tiny, only weighing 4 pounds 4oz. But she's eating like an absolute champ! She loves her milk and now makes the cutest faces once she's finished drinking.

She loves to be held, and be sung to. Her favourite song is 'baby mine' and when Matt sings it to her, she gives us the biggest grins possible!

She absolutely adores music. And she loves listening to Matt singing. In fact it's one of the very few ways to calm her down. Since we haven't been able to hold her yet we've had to get creative. So singing to her is what we came up with and it's been a complete success.

"Hey love bug." Matt smiled as he cleaned his hands before placing them inside the isolette.

"It's just me today. Mummy's had to go back to work for a little bit." Matt explained softly as Rory's eyes flickered open.

"But she told me to tell you that she loves you so much and she'll be back tonight so she can read you 'goodnight moon". Matt said as Rory kicked her legs eagerly.

"Yes... You know who I'm talking about don't you? You're such a clever little girl." Matt praised as Rory continued to kick her legs eagerly.

"And then, once you get big enough, you can come to school with Daddy while mummy works. And you'll have so much fun!" Matt cooed as Rory continued to kick her legs eagerly.

The bonding session is then interrupted by Aurora's doctor, Dr Whale.

"Hi Mr Wilding." Dr Whale smiled slightly.

"Dr Whale, is Rory okay?" Matt asked confused.

"That's what I've come to talk to you about." Dr Whale explained as he sat down next to Matt.

"Rory's weight has plateaued slightly, and she's even started loosing some which given how small she already is, loosing weight is something she can't really be afford to be doing." He explained.

"Right, so I'm gathering you are here to explain a solution?" Matt confirmed as Dr Whale nodded.

"What I'm suggesting is to place a temporary NG tube. This would go down her nose into her stomach, and it'd be less work for her body. It'd allow her to heal and continue to recover." Dr Whale finished.

"We're at the point where if she doesn't start gaining weight again soon, this could cause a whole multitude of issues which is an avenue we can't afford to go down." Dr Whale explained.

"So we have no choice?" Matt asked.

"You do, But in my professional opinion, the quicker we do this the more likely it is that she'll have a successful recovery and start putting weight back on again." Dr whale replied.

"Can I just call Rosie? I mean- Aurora's mum?" Matt asked as Dr Whale nodded.

"I'll be just outside." Dr Whale smiled softly as he left.

M: Rosie?
R: Is everything okay? Is it Aurora? I knew I shouldn't have left her it was too soon!
M: Rory's fine. Well... She will be. Dr Whale came in to see me and he said she's plateaued. He wants to place a temporary NG tube to help her regain some weight.
R: Shit. Is she okay otherwise?
M: She's stable. But we need to make this decision together. I need to know that you are on the same page as me.
R: If she needs it and it's in her best interests, then I think we should do it. She deserves a fighting chance.
M: I'll go let Dr Whale known. He's doing to do the operation in the next hour or two so I'll keep you updated okay?
R: Promise?
M: I promise. If her heartrate dips even slightly, i'll call you.

Hanging up the call, Matt sighed and rubbed his hand over his head, stressed.

"You're a little terror you know." Matt said as he smiled at Rory.

"You're going to make me go grey before 45 aren't you?" Matt chuckled as Rory vocalised and kicked her legs.

"I can't wait for you to come home. You'll love your room." Matt said as he got emotional.

"Mr Wilding?" Mr Bellingham asked as Matt nodded

"Yeah... Sorry." Matt said as he stood up and wiped his eyes.

"I just wanted to ask if you've managed to contact Aurora's mother?" He asked as Matt nodded.

"She's happy for it to go ahead." Matt said firmly.

"Great, If it's okay with you I'll take her now. I'll get a nurse to bring down the consent forms shortly." He said as Matt nodded.

Matt knew the next 2 hours were going to be absolute torture.