Eckersley House provided us with a sanctuary By Helen Meynell, Lewis’s mum

When our son Lewis was born in York Hospital in January 2011 he had to be transferred straight away to Leeds General Infirmary (LGI). He was suffering from Gastroschisis, a condition which meant his bowels and intestines were born on the outside of his body and he needed immediate attention.

We were made aware of his condition during an early scan but were still not fully prepared for what lay ahead. Whilst Lewis was transferred to the LGI me and my partner, Andrew, couldn’t follow him until the next day. When I arrived at the hospital I was placed back onto a ward as I still required additional post birth care but Andrew had to sleep on the floor on a mattress.

As you can imagine the situation was not ideal but thankfully because we had known that there was a possibility of us being transferred we had already researched our options and found The Sick Children’s Trust. Four days later both Andrew and I moved into Eckersley House.

On his initial night at the LGI, Lewis had his first operation which appeared to be a success but then six weeks later at a scan to check he had healed properly, the doctor found more blockages in his intestine and we were told he would need a second operation to rectify this. We had to wait six more weeks to see if Lewis had recovered and unfortunately once again, there was another blockage and he was taken back to intensive care.

During this time, Andrew and I remained at Eckersley House. I can’t tell you the relief we felt knowing that we were literally just across the road from him should he need us. We initially thought that we would be back home in Scarborough after two months but he wasn’t recovering as fast as we had hoped which meant we had to extend our stay.

We were missing our families as we were used to them being close by, so having them visit us at the house helped no end and they gave us reassurance as new parents that we were doing everything we could for Lewis. Mentally and emotionally it was wonderful to be around familiar people. We could bring them into the lounge and sit and have a cup of tea together and chat about what was happening, it was almost like being at home, especially when our parents came to stay.

After Lewis’s third operation, he was in intensive care for more than a week. He was slowly getting better but then he reacted adversely to a drug and his progress went rapidly down hill. He had to be put on a ventilator as he couldn’t breathe on his own.
I was getting really worried about him so took his grandpa over to see him who had been staying at the house with us and after that he perked up. I really do believe that having his family around and so close had a positive affect on his health.

Staying at the house for us has been great. We can get some sleep away from all the beeps and noises of the ward. When I was first in hospital the nurses were coming in and out all the time so I didn’t get much sleep. Staying at Eckersley House has helped to get my sleeping pattern into a better routine so I can wake up refreshed and focus all my energy on Lewis. He was taken away from me so quickly that all I had time for was a quick cuddle when he was first born, but being here I can spend all my time with him and we can bond, which as a first time mum is very important for me.

There is always a friendly environment in the house with other families. Everyone gets along and clubs together to support each other as we are all in the same situation with sick children. There was one family from our home town that I became quite good friends with and we shared the learning of Total Parenteral Nutrition together. This is a procedure that provides liquid nutrition through a catheter that is inserted into a vein and I needed to learn how to do this for Lewis. This gave me more confidence that when I will have to do it on my own when we go home, it will be okay.

The house manager Jane has also been a rock. She has become like a surrogate mum to me and taken me under her wing. She reassured me about Lewis and also showed real concern for our situation. I know I can talk to her about anything from finding a local store in Leeds, to more emotional topics such as coping with being a first time mum.

Lewis is now doing much better and is on solid food three times a day and only fed through a tube 14 hours a day. He is getting much stronger and will hopefully be ready to go home soon.