“It has been a very long and difficult journey, more so when they told us that we could potentially lose Pria, but I feel that we’re in a good place now. There was one point where we all in different places, the girls and I in London, Jag in Leeds and Maya was being looked after by family in the Midlands! Without you guys the transfer wouldn’t have been possible and for that we sincerely and whole heartedly thank you.”– Suki, Pria & Kaya’s Mum
Suki and her partner Jag were in the middle of relocating from Kent to Leeds when their twins Pria and Kaya were born extremely early at just 23 weeks gestation. Being born so premature, the twins needed neonatal intensive care at William Harvey Hospital in Ashford; they needed help with feeding, breathing and required constant monitoring.
Once the girls became stable enough, Suki and Jag were told that an air transfer to a hospital closer to their new home in Leeds would be possible. However, whilst preparing to move hospitals Pria contracted a dangerous infection called Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a serious disease that affects the intestines of premature babies. She had to be blue-lighted to St Thomas’ Hospital in London as it was the closest hospital that could operate on her. Pria had urgent surgery to remove part of her bowel and was given a stoma.
Whilst Pria was at St Thomas’ Hospital, Kaya was still at William Harvey Hospital in Ashford. There were no beds available for her to join her sister and so Suki and Jag were stretched between the two hospitals. They spent their days driving back and forth from the hospitals that were over 50 miles apart to ensure that they were supporting both girls’ such different and complex healthcare needs.
Whilst caring for their newborns, Suki and Jag were also caring for their eldest daughter Maya who wasn’t allowed to visit either hospital due to Coronavirus restrictions. The situation forced Suki and Jag to make the tough decision to have Maya stay with their closest relatives in the Midlands just until they could get Pria and Kaya transferred to a hospital closer to their new home in Leeds.
All this whilst trying to relocate, made life very difficult for Suki and Jag. They were so relieved when a bed space opened at St Thomas’ Hospital and Kaya could finally be reunited with her sister. They were one step closer to being reunited as a family.
Now two months old, Pria had her second operation to remove more of her bowel and rejoin it in two places and reverse the stoma. After the surgery, Suki and Jag were told that the girls were potentially able to move from London to Leeds where they could continue the girls’ neonatal care.
Lucy Air Ambulance for Children (Lucy AAC) was contacted and asked to fly the girls from Dartford to Leeds where they could continue their care – a transfer by road would not be possible due to both the distance and the complex medical care the twins needed. However, plans to move the girls were put on hold as both girls were diagnosed with a serious eye disease called retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and needed laser eye surgery. After the surgery, Pria and Kaya were transferred to Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford where they could concentrate on the girls feeding, help them become more independent, and wait for a bed space at St James University Hospital in Leeds. Although they were grateful that the twins were together, this was the third hospital that Pria and Kaya had been in and they were only four months old.
With Lucy AAC on standby for the girls, they were able to move immediately once bed space became available closer to their new home. Lucy AAC flew Pria and Kaya with Suki from Dartford to Harrogate District Hospital – only a few miles from their new home and their grandparents who were desperate to finally meet them.
“This transfer meant that both girls would go together and be flown together which was hugely important as we had been told they could go separately and the other may have to stay for a few weeks. We didn’t want the girls separated.”
Pria and Kaya settled in well at Harrogate Hospital and progressed quickly. Their big sister Maya had been waiting four months to meet her little sisters for the first time and according to Suki she is absolutely “besotted” with them. Suki says:
“We are living with the girls’ grandparents at the moment and should hopefully be in our new home in a few weeks.. The transfer has had a huge impact on our lives as a family as we are now all in the same place and have support from family.
“It has been a very long and difficult journey, more so when they told us that we could potentially lose Pria, but I feel that we’re in a good place now. There was one point where we all in different places, the girls and I in London, Jag in Leeds and Maya was being looked after by family in the Midlands! Without you guys the transfer wouldn’t have been possible and for that we sincerely and whole heartedly thank you.”
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