My daughter Emma was born at 28 weeks. I was staying at my in-laws for Easter & was rushed to hospital from Hawarden to Chester hospital at 11.00 am, through Saturday morning traffic - I thought I had a kidney infection. The dear paramedic was very young & had never delivered a child before. He was as white as a sheet & looked terrified! The G.P. followed the Ambulance & told the driver to stop if my waters broke. Our daughter was born within 10 minutes of reaching the hospital. I was taken onto a maternity ward & our daughter was taken straight to intensive care in an incubator. She weighed 3lb 4 ozs.

The sister on the maternity ward that evening sat on my bed & told me not to think of my daughter for 3 weeks - when she may have a chance of making it. The next morning two doctors stood at the bottom of my bed & told the sister to issue tablets to stop my milk from coming through. My husband arrived mid morning & found me in a sad state. I told him what had been said. He immediately went to find a wheelchair put me in it & told the staff that he was taking me to see our daughter in the intensive care department of the nursery. I was able to look through a glass window & her incubator was just beside it. She had a disposable nappy on with 2 tiny feet at the bottom & it came up under her arms. She had a couple of tubes, one helping her to breath as her lungs weren't properly formed. An Irish nurse was sat beside her..she flicked her ear & said breath Emma, breath you little bugger..with much love & attention! She stopped she said every 48 seconds for the first 48 hours. They had very little equipment. Her weight dropped to 2lb 12ozs but she made it through..it took 3 months. We visited every day.

Our biggest scare came when we found her incubator empty - but my husband spotted a crib with 2 little feet in the air & he said there she is, that's our girl...such a moment, from despair to joy.. & to the first time I held her. Her wrist band fits around my little finger. She now has a daughter of her own Chloe, who is 28. I have been a diabetic for 63 years.

Lindy Isham lindyisham@icloud.com Yes Yes