A baby born prematurely is saying his first words and “he loves story time,” his proud parents say.
When Peadar O’Boyle was born at 23 weeks and 6 days gestation and spent weeks on a ventilator and his first 111 days were in hospital.
He got home in time for Mother’s Day last year. His parents Ruth and Aiden said, “Peadar is a warrior and superhero.”
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“We would love to share his progress as he celebrated his "1st" birthday at the end of March,” Ruth said.
When pregnant with their older son Malachy, Ruth recalls a scan at 24 weeks where the doctor said it was, “a big milestone because babies can survive at 24 weeks.”
Those words came back to her when early labour was triggered by a high temperature brought on by a urinary tract infection. When Peadar was born the couple, who live in Drogheda, county Louth, were told there was a forty percent chance of him surviving.
“Looking back there were so many things said to us about Peadar, and he has proven a lot of doctors wrong so far,” Ruth explained. “He has continued to grow and to show his personality, as babies do. He has a big smile and a strong personality,” Aiden added.
By the time he was six months old, Peadar had come through being ventilated for 5 weeks, bleeds on his brain, meningitis and he also had hydrocephalus.
He does have challenges as a result of his extreme prematurity and has been linked in with occupational therapy and physiotherapy to help him meet his milestones.
Ruth said, “he has had a lot of physiotherapy, occupational therapy, osteopathic therapy and treatments.”
She said the treatments are allowing Peadar “to do so many of the things every parent wants their baby to do. Peadar’s personality is coming through and he is always full of smiles but he is also determined when the therapists give him a challenge.”
“He is currently attending the Central Remedial Clinic, which is a phenomenal resource, and it allows him to maximise his use of his right arm and leg.”
“He is now sitting independently and saying his first words. He loves story time, especially books that have a flap to pull up!” The couple is keen to let other parents of extremely premature babies that access to services is not guaranteed.
Aiden said, “we would say to work closely with whatever services are available in your area. Some areas have fantastic resources and others are terrible.”
“Remember you know your child best so work with the professionals to develop the best strategy for your situation. Be prepared to fight for your child as unfortunately, the public services are under-resourced and there can be high demand for them.”
They are looking forward to a future where Peadar continues to progress as he continually has “ proven he is a warrior and a superhero.”
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