For most mothers, the first day of school is a significant milestone. But for Winmalee resident Deana Gibbons, seeing her son walk through the school gates was nothing short of a miracle.
Callum Gibbons, who was born prematurely at 24 weeks, started kindergarten at St Thomas Aquinas School in Springwood, last month. It was a day that Mrs Gibbons thought her son would never live to experience.
At the time, she said: “Coming close to losing your baby is the hardest and most emotional journey ever.”
Callum was born in January 2011, weighing 810 grams and stretching 34 centimetres long. Out of the 25,000 babies born prematurely in Australia that year, most arrived between 32-36 weeks of gestation.
At 23 weeks pregnant Mrs Gibbons and her husband Conrad rushed to Nepean Hospital after Deana experienced a “scare” and was placed on immediate bed rest. For nine days, the Gibbons’ “hoped and prayed he would stay inside for an extra day longer to increase his chances”.
After Callum was born he was hospitalised for 113 days to monitor his collapsed lungs and infections. “It was a tiring experience. I would visit him at hospital at six in the morning from eleven at night. Then when he came home he required oxygen for a year,” said Mrs Gibbons.
Six years later, Callum has grown into a “happy, healthy and very social little boy…We were told he would have a lot of health issues growing up but by some miracle he is fine,” said Mrs Gibbons. However, Callum continues to be monitored by a respiratory specialist for his chronic lung disease.
After being given an additional year of preschool education, Callum is now confident in class and progressing alongside the other children. Callum said he looks forward to school each day because he is able to see all of his friends.
“The first day was emotionally challenging to let him go off into the world. But he needs to spread his wings and meet new challenges to be the best he can be,” Mrs Gibbons told the Gazette.
Throughout her journey, Mrs Gibbons was supported by the Nepean Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Parents’ Support Group (NNICUPS), of which she is now president. “It’s my way of giving back the same way they helped me.” By sharing her story with other families, she continues to increase community support and dialogue about premature babies. NNICUPS also fundraises for medical equipment for Nepean Hospital.
The first day was emotionally challenging to let him go off into the world.
- Deana Gibbons
“There is a light at the end of the tunnel,” she said. “Don’t give up, because if we gave up on him…he wouldn’t be here now starting school.”
