October 2019 NEC UK was able to facilitate two family days in the UK, one in Oxfordshire the other West Yorkshire. The family days were open to any family who has been affected by NEC, together we celebrated our survivors and honoured our babies whose memories we hold in our hearts.
It was lovely to meet families face to face and to be able to share our journeys, ask questions and bring the support and togetherness of the NEC UK online community to a physical presence. The children who attended really enjoyed themselves exploring, playing and seeing each other’s “Shark bites” (their scars).
Our intention is to make the NEC families days an annual event, we will be exploring options of how to make these meets available to families in other parts of the UK.
Here’s some feedback from parents who attended the family days...
“ We had such a good time! Was so lovely to meet other parents and see NEC babies thieving. Feels like a family almost “
“ We met some lovely families, and to hear their stories certainly helped me, even though I didn't really speak much, I tend to just listen Its inspired me to take on a challenge to fundraise for NEC Uk“
“It was such a lovely day all round and well organised by the NEC UK parent volunteers. The facilities were great along with the staff who worked there. My boys really enjoyed meeting and playing with the other children who have had similar life journeys affected by NEC. My boys also loved exploring the old fire station and its history. As parents to a medically complex child resulted from NEC it was a pleasure to meet with other families who have also been affected by this devastating disease. It was nice to finally meet some of the social media members who have supported not only my family but others with words of encouragement and support over the years. We are all looking forward to the next Family Meet”
“It was so wonderful to meet other families who have had different and similar NEC journeys, as we all had a traumatic experience in common. It was lovely to talk about our babies with other bereaved families who really understood how we are feeling. Our other children really enjoyed the activities on offer and the facilities were spot on”
Thank you to the families for joining us, hope to see you next year!
Here are a few pictures from the event