They say lightening doesn’t strike twice, but for Iain and Emily Collings in Park Gate it did. Son Reuben was born six weeks early, on 24 January 2010, and like his brother Joseph, who was born 11 weeks early in March 2008, stayed on the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (sometimes called the Special Care Baby Unit or SCBU) at the Princess Anne Hospital for several weeks. Iain Collings said, “Having passed the point at which Joseph had been born, we thought my wife Emily was in the clear. Ironically, the day before Reuben was born, I had said to Emily ‘I think you’ll go full term this time!”
“We are so grateful for the wonderful care that Reuben received and the support from all the staff at the unit. They made it possible for Reuben to come home just in time for his Mummy’s special birthday, which was of course the best present of all!”
Iain and Emily Collings would like to thank everyone who sponsored Iain in September when he completed the ‘Portsmouth Victory 5’ run, helping him to raise over £1,800 for the unit that cared for their two sons. Cheered on by loud shouts of support from Joseph, Iain finished the run in a time of 32 minutes and 40 seconds, beating his target time by 20 seconds.
Iain also completed a 10K run in Chichester with his brother Rich in 2008, and collectively the family have raised a total of £5,000 for Southampton Hospital Charity’s Special Care Baby Unit Fund.
Ian said, “Thank you so much for your support, which means a lot to us as a family. Thank you also to the wonderful nurses and doctors at the SCBU, they are very special people.”
Posted on Wednesday 13 October 2010