Joshua Nigel Poulton
18th Jan – 1st Feb 2005
Josh arrived at only 29 weeks and 2lbs 14 ounces, we were the happiest people on earth. At 18 weeks pregnant my waters broke (Premature Rupture of Membranes -PROM). We were told I would probably miscarry within 24- 72 hours. I never did, Josh continued to grow without fluid. We had many detailed scans showing that he also had a heart condition called Fallot’s Tetralogy. The consultant told us that because Josh had no fluid his lungs could not develop properly. He said 99% chance that he would die at birth but if he did manage to develop his lungs enough he would require major heart surgery. For 11 weeks I lay down to try to retain as much fluid around Josh as possible. When he was born, by emergency caesarean section, his lungs were underdeveloped but after a difficult resuscitation he was taken to the high dependency neonatal unit.
It was a miracle he had survived to 29 weeks. As we prayed for our Josh our prayers were initially pleas for the continuation of that miracle, that he would live and that everything would be as we had hoped. Each day differed, we had some ups and some downs. In just a week we were amazed at how much love Josh had brought to earth and how many lives he had touched and inspired.
After a week of high dependency ventilation, Josh’s test results showed that he had little or no brain activity. At some point he had suffered an acute lack of oxygen to his brain. He did not attempt to breathe on his own, he did not react to eye or gag reflex tests and his only movements were twitches that the consultants believed were electrical misfires in his brain. His ventilator was keeping his body alive and so the doctors felt there was not much point continuing the care. As we tried to comprehend the results of his tests we were heartbroken, our son was soon to leave us and the pain of the looming separation was almost unbearable.
During this time we accepted what was best for Josh and prayed for strength. We had faith in the Lord’s will. We took comfort from this quote “The Lord takes many away, even in infancy, that they may escape the envy of man, and the sorrows and evils of this present world; they were too pure, too lovely, to live on earth.” (Joseph Smith) We felt privileged having such a special boy as part of our family.
After several other tests and receiving a second opinion, our consultant made the decision to remove Josh’s care. We were fortunate to have four more enjoyable days with our son and the rest of the family. We held his hand, talked and sang to him and got to help keep him clean. One day with the assistance of 6 nurses we got to hold him with his life support attached, his oxygen levels improved while we held him, the nurses said he must have enjoyed it as much as we had. After 2 incredible weeks we held our son in our arms and he passed away. It was a very difficult but special moment, we shed tears but we were comforted in our belief of a life after this. We believe Josh will be waiting for us and we will see him again.
Josh is the greatest blessing of our lives so far, he has influenced so many people. He has given us a better perspective on life. Since his death we have had 3 girls. One of our girls was born the day Josh died. He will always be a very special member of our family.
Jen Poulton
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Current Fundraising Activities
Selling funky baby bibs
Sponsored Slim
Garden Party
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Garden Party 2010
The garden party was really well supported by friends, family and neighbours and I think everyone had a great time. We had a bouncy castle, candy floss machine, stalls, games, hot dogs, penalty shoot out, memory balloons, face painting and more. It was a a huge success. Barclays kindly matched pound for pound upto £750 and in total, we raised a staggering £1750 and with donations that have since come in, I think I can safely say that we have passed the £2000 mark!
Let the party commence!
A must for all garden parties!
It was a resounding success and of course, with such success, we HAVE to do it again this year!
The money we raised went towards paying for a cold cot for Leighton Hospital. It is a refrigerated crib that allows parents who find themselves in their worst nightmare, to spend a little more time with their child.
Here are some of the press releases and photos of our fundraising efforts:
Cold Cot donated to Leighton Hospital by the Ray of Hope
Crewe Guardian
Crewe Chronicle
This year, our garden party will be on Saturday 2nd July. Further details to follow.
The Ray of Hope are grateful for any donations, no matter how small, so if you would like to make a donation to the Ray of Hope, then please follow the following link:
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