My baby boy Riley was born 14 weeks premature due to me having severe pre eclampsia. All was well and he was doing fine, he was coping with life outside my womb as best as could be expected. He had to have a few courses of antibiotics along the way but was nothing too serious. They just needed his lungs to mature which was going to take sometime.

On the 22nd August on my daily visit to the neonatal unit he looked very poorly and his oxygen requirements had gone up but they didn't know why as he was tolerating his feeds at this point but I could see he was in pain and they gave him pain relief and They switched ventilators to help him a bit more.

Later on I was doing his cares when I noticed his tummy was very bloated and I noticed bloody round his bum. The doctors then said that it looks like NEC. They fought all night to keep him alive even though telling me he wouldn't last the night. Daddy was working away and I had called him to come home. They were sure he wouldn't hold on till he came home. Surgery was not an option as he was so tiny and the ventilation he needed was not fit for surgery so he probably would of passed away during the op.

They asked me if I wanted to switch the machines off so he could pass away peacefully in my arms but I couldn't do it without daddy being there again they were Adamant he would not hold on that long.

Daddy finally made it the following morning on Tuesday 23rd August 2016 so he could have his final goodbye and Riley passed away peacefully 15 minutes later aged just 7 weeks old. He knew his daddy was on his way and I believe he held on for him.

Sleep tight little man xxxxx