A baby born at just 24 weeks has been discharged to spend Christmas at home after over 500 days in hospital.
Bertie Melly was born weighing just 1lb 10oz in May 2024 at St Thomas’ Hospital in London, and had his first surgery on his bowel at just ten days old. Four more operations later, and having lost 70 per cent of his small intestine, Bertie was able to be discharged.
In Great Britain, abortion is currently permitted for most reasons up to 24 weeks, and up to birth if the unborn child is deemed to have a disability.
Happiest child
Reflecting on the long period of hospitalisation, mum Phoebe said we “went through a lot”, but that “we’ve made so much progress in 18 months, so who knows where we’ll be in a year’s time as well.”
Following time at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at St Thomas’, Bertie was moved to Evelina London Children’s Hospital. He was discharged in November, but was still reliant on an IV line and being tube fed milk.
His dad Callum explained that he hopes the IV line can be removed in the next year, and he can start eating more solid food: “If he can get that line out, then it means we can have a pretty much normal life until he’s eating enough to get the milk pump removed as well.”
He described Bertie as the “happiest child you will ever meet”, adding: “Considering everything he’s been through – if you see his hands, his hands are covered in scars from the amount of cannulas he’s had, he’s got gaping scars all over his abdomen – and he wakes up beaming, goes to bed, beaming.”
Enjoying Christmas
Dad Callum said: “We’ve only been home for four weeks, but it’s almost a distant memory now being at the hospital, which is really nice, just so normal.”
Phoebe added: “He’s physically developing really well, I think he’s not that far off walking now. He’s climbing up the stairs, on and off the sofa, and getting a bit more confident with his standing”, and she shared how Bertie was enjoying “all the decorations” for Christmas.
The couple expressed their gratitude for all the “love and affection” the doctors and nurses gave Bertie: “They saved his life at the end of the day, on countless occasions.”
Mum Phoebe said: “In the NICU and in the paediatric ward at the Evelina, everyone just loved him and genuinely really cared for him, which was so nice, and I think that’s really helped him to get to where he is today.”
‘Grace and courage’
Iain Yardley, consultant paediatric and neonatal surgeon who cared for Bertie at Evelina London, said: “Bertie has faced many, many challenges in his short life. He and his parents have faced these challenges with extraordinary grace and courage.”
He reflected: “Seeing him go home is what we all have been working for and we could not be more pleased for him and his family.”
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