Warren is a Registered Charity set up to help Premature babies and their families, we are small and new and have very limited funds but we will keep fighting to help wherever we can , initially providing parking permits/Travel passes for parents of premature babies requiring treatment in the neonatal intensive care unit , personalised Journey Bunnies , emergency hospital bags and emergency overnig
ht accommodation for those parents who's babies are transferred out of their local hospitals to ones further afield for specialist care ...........and here's why
During the fight for life our own precious miracle baby who lost his battle at just 12 days old we saw first hand the struggles, physically, mentally and financially of having your baby enter the world too soon - the roller coaster of emotions , stresses of arranging care for other children whilst spending as much time as you can by your babies side whilst they fight for their lives and the financial impact of extra costs and time off work
We can't help with the fight but there as so many ways we can help make the journey a little easier - our main worry during our journey was finances- we were both self employed - I was off work for over a month , and when Warren arrived too soon Dad had to stop working in order to provide care for our other children , and of course spend time with his precious little boy , this meant our income dropped to zero almost instantly , but the daily parking charges, endless cups of coffee whilst we were asked to leave the unit while tests were done , and the grab a sandwich when you can lifestyle we adopted mounted up very quickly - and increased dramatically when warren suddenly became poorly at 10 days old - we spent every minute we could by his bedside , 2 days later just as the news came that there was nothing else doctors could do ......... dad's alarm went off to let him know our parking ticket was expiring , he rushed off to add more time so our car didn't get clamped , but sadly he wasn't quick enough- Warren was gone by the time he returned , in hindsight of course we would take the clamp to give him those last moments with his child - but its a decision we didn't realise was so relevant at the time, one that will haunt us forever - as such I feel strongly that no parent should have to face that, so the provision of parking permits giving parents the financial freedom to stay with their child as long as they wish to holds a special place in my heart
During Warrens 12 days off life , he owned very little , he never worn clothes with being in an incubator his entire life , but a small , very simple bunny brought by his aunt was , after sterilisation was allowed in his incubator with him, when we lost warren I tucked him into his moses basket with his little bunny and he was taken away by porters to the morgue , I left the hospital empty handed with not a single possession of warrens , it was 4 weeks later before I laid eyes on my baby boy again, due to problems getting a death certificate during covid lockdown (his birth had not yet been registered due to restrictions and as such a death certificate could not be issued) It was at this point a realised his bunny was not only the only item I would ever have that had been touched by him, but it had actually spent more time with my baby than I had- and during that time it had absorbed his smell, not the usual smell mothers would recognise, but the clinical smell only mothers of neonates will be familiar with - this is now my most prized possession , my only direct link to my precious baby boy - we later had it personalised with his name , date of birth , time of birth and weight - and that's when it struck me , other parents should have this opportunity, so we provide these to any parent that requests one , already personalised with their babies details ,for those that win the battle they become a comforter to be played with as they age, a memento of the fight they won , for those who's babies lose their battle it becomes a precious keepsake - we call them Journey Bunnies , because whatever the outcome , they mark the journey
In the future we hope to achieve so much more for these families but for now the little things are the more achievable ,
We don't have a flashy website because 100% of the money we raise goes where it was intended we do not spend any donations we receive on anything except directly helping premature babies and their families , I as warrens mum hope to fund a website personally in the future but am not in a position financially to do so as yet due to personally covering all other administrative costs myself , of course i have tried very hard to build one myself but that is far beyond my ability!, No one connected to Warren receives any perks, expenses, and all costs associated with running Warren is currently funded by his family
