Sasha Blue’s Story
Every morning when we wake up and go into our daughter Sasha Blue’s bedroom, she greets us with a huge smile. She wakes up cheerful and excited to start the day. It’s hard to believe that just a little over six months ago, she weighed less than one pound and was small enough to fit entirely in the palm of her dad’s hand.
Early on in our pregnancy, Sasha Blue was diagnosed with intrauterine growth restriction. She wasn’t growing at a normal rate, and it was clear that she would be born prematurely and much smaller than average. We were nervous and scared – as first-time parents, we didn’t know what to expect. But we knew we would do absolutely anything for our baby. And right from day one, we realized the medical teams in the Victoria General Neonatal unit felt the same way.
Our Sasha Blue came into the world at just 27 weeks. She immediately required ventilation to breathe – her tiny lungs were underdeveloped and she couldn’t breathe on her own. She needed 24-hour intensive care and sophisticated equipment just to survive. She spent most of her time inside an incubator hooked up to lifesaving technology. The advanced equipment at Victoria General is what allowed doctors to save our daughter’s life.
It was an overwhelming time, but the excellent care our family received left us in awe. Every day, she got a little bit stronger. We knew we would have to rely on the expertise of the medical teams for our daughter’s survival, but what we didn’t know was how much they would also support us as parents. They helped us to remain hopeful, gave us countless pep talks and offered endless encouragement. It was definitely an eye-opening experience. Having this high level of care available right here, close to home at Victoria General is in invaluable. We were able to stay together as a family and didn’t have to deal with the stress of travelling off the Island.
When we heard about the Victoria Hospitals Foundation campaign for Neonatal & Pediatric Intensive care equipment, we wanted to share our story not only to express our gratitude, but also to spread the word about the profound impact this hospital has on local families. Our beautiful Sasha Blue is living proof of how crucial it is to have the best equipment available.
Bianca & Jamie, Victoria
To give, click on the donate now button, call 250-519-1750, or send a cheque to Victoria Hospitals Foundation, Wilson Block, 1952 Bay Street, Victoria, BC, V8R 1J8.
