The Dobson Family

Toby with his Dad Alastair in the hydrotherapy pool at Naomi House

Our sons, Toby and his twin brother Cameron, were born on the 31st of January 2007 at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester, weighing just 1lb 12oz. Sadly Cameron passed away at just two hours old. Due to complications, Toby was transferred to the Princess Anne hospital in Southampton.

Toby was born with chronic lung disease and had to go through heart surgery, a hernia operation and eight blood transfusions in the first few weeks of his life.

The coming months were an agonising roller coaster ride while Toby battled for life in the neonatal unit. He remained on a ventilator for 59 days. After 160 days in hospital Toby was well enough to go home although remained on 24 hour oxygen until November 2010.

Toby was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at approximately 18 months old and due to a slow weight gain and feeding difficulties he had a feeding tube fitted in August 2009.

Toby was accepted at Naomi House in June 2009, but sadly due to the high demand for places it wasn't until January 2010 that Toby, his dad and I had our first stay. It was hard to accept at first that we needed a place such as Naomi House. Toby spent a lot of time in his first few years of life in and out of hospital with chest infections due to his chronic lung disease so we had to come to terms with the fact that he was very vulnerable and required a lot of looking after. Naomi House provided valuable respite care that enabled us to re-charge our batteries.

We have now had many stays at Naomi House and can't imagine a time when we don't attend. The staff are great with Toby and support us all as a family. During our stays, Toby benefits from the care he receives, the interaction with other children, use of the hydro pool and music therapy which he absolutely loves. Alastair and I benefit from catching up on lost sleep, freshly cooked meals and time together without worrying about Toby, as we know he is having a lot of fun with his carer. Having Naomi House has enabled Alastair and I to go away for a few days and celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary.

Naomi House also provides emergency care. Toby was at Naomi House for a planned three night stay but ended up staying for a week when I had a short and unexpected stay in hospital. Having Toby in such a safe and caring environment took a lot of pressure off a very stressful situation that could have been so much harder to deal with if Toby had been elsewhere.

Experienced nurses also provide a Naomi House at Home service. When I returned from my stay in hospital, staff came out and helped care for Toby at home for a few hours a day which helped me make a swift recovery. They have also provided us with help at home when Toby had several chest infections in a row and I have needed some extra help.

We look forward to every visit and would recommend Naomi House to any family in a similar position. We are very well aware however, that it takes a considerable amount of effort and funding to provide such a wonderful service and we are very thankful to everyone that contributes.

Lyndsay Dobson