I gave birth to identical twin girls at Wolverhampton hospital....

On 2 December 2012 at just 25 weeks pregnant I gave birth to identical twin girls at Wolverhampton hospital - Angel Stewart who was 1lb13 ounces and Maisy Stewart, who was 1lb 3 ounces. Sadly our baby Angel passed away shortly after birth. This was the start of Maisy’s long journey to get home. On 11 December Maisy was transferred to the Rosie Maternity Hospital in Cambridge as it was the closest specialised hospital to us. It was here that my partner, Sean, and I were told about Chestnut House, a ‘Home from Home’ facility that provides free accommodation to the families of sick babies being treated at the hospital. The room was just downstairs from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and I was so pleased to be able to stay there as we were still in shock from the birth of our girls and losing Angel that neither Sean nor myself could not bear the thought of leaving Maisy. The morning after we had arrived Alan Booth Chestnut House Manager showed us around Chestnut House. It was great to know there is a friendly face around if we need anything or have any questions.

We could not face speaking to anyone after what we had been through but living in the house with others around us who are also in the same situation made it a lot easier to start talking about our journey’s together. We found some great friendships in the house that I’m sure will continue when we return home. It’s now the start of February and we have now been in Chestnut House for eight weeks. We feel so privileged to be staying so close to Maisy for her time in hospital. We have been able to spend more time with her than we could ever imagine with than if we were commuting from our home in North London. It is great to be able to go upstairs any time of the day but also to be able to come back to the house and have some normality, especially when we have visitors up, to sit and have a cup of tea in the living room as if we were at home is lovely. Maisy still has a long journey home ahead but thanks to Alan and The Sick Children’s Trust we have had somewhere safe, friendly and homely to stay and will be forever grateful for your kindness and hard work. Kirsty and Sean, Maisy’s parents