A family from Scunthorpe are looking forward to celebrating a Christmas they once feared they might never have, after their baby son Hendrix survived a life-threatening condition thanks to specialist hospital care – and vital support from The Sick Children’s Trust.
Hendrix was born in January this year after a traumatic delivery in Grimsby. Mum Abby Millis had been induced, but after 12 hours of labour her condition deteriorated rapidly and she required an emergency C-section. Hendrix let out only one faint cry before being rushed to neonatal intensive care.
While doctors battled to stabilise her son, Abby was also critically ill with sepsis following surgery. “Even as they were treating me, all I could think about was my baby,” she said. “Nobody could tell me what was happening. Those hours of waiting were unbearable.”
The news that followed was devastating. Hendrix had a left-sided congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), a rare condition where the diaphragm does not form properly. His bowel and spleen had moved into his chest, crushing his lung and pushing his heart aside. He couldn’t breathe on his own and urgently needed specialist surgery.
Separated from our newborn when we needed him most
Within hours he was transferred by the Embrace transport team to Jessop Wing NICU at Sheffield, around 50 miles away. Abby was too unwell to join him immediately, and her partner, Ash, travelled with their newborn son. “Not being with Hendrix was heartbreaking in a way I can’t describe,” she said.
The following day, still in a wheelchair, Abby arrived in Sheffield to be reunited with her baby. At just five days old Hendrix underwent major surgery at Sheffield Children’s Hospital. After the operation he returned to Jessop Wing to recover before being moved to the Neonatal Surgical Unit at Sheffield Children’s Hospital.
It was there that the family were offered a room at Magnolia House, one of our ten ‘Homes from Home’ that give families a free place to stay just moments from their child’s bedside.
A ‘Home from Home’ when nothing felt normal
“Walking into Magnolia House brought instant relief,” Abby said. “We stayed for two weeks, and I don’t know how we would have coped without it. It meant we could be with Hendrix day and night. Some nights I’d go down in my pyjamas just to sit with him. It gave me back a sense of being his mum when everything else felt out of my control.”
Staying at Magnolia House spared the family from sleeping in hospital chairs or facing the cost of hotels more than 50 miles from home. It also meant Abby could support Hendrix’s feeding journey, attending every feed as he built from tube feeding to his first bottle at 13 days old – a milestone she describes as “one of the happiest moments of my life”.
Today, Hendrix is thriving. His recovery has been one of the quickest Sheffield clinicians have seen, and he is now a lively, smiling nearly-one-year-old who has just started nursery. While he remains more vulnerable to colds, Abby says “nothing stops him”.
Looking forward with gratitude and hope
As the family prepare for their first Christmas together at home, the moment feels especially meaningful.
“Every baby’s first Christmas is special, but this one feels like a miracle,” Abby said. “When he was born, the hospital still had decorations up. Looking back now, it feels surreal to see how far he’s come. The Sick Children’s Trust kept us together when it mattered most, and we’ll never stop being grateful.”
Ann Wyatt, House Manager at Magnolia House, said: “We’re so pleased to see how brilliantly Hendrix is doing. Christmas is a time for families to be together, and our charity exists to make sure that even in their darkest moments, parents like Abby and Ash can stay close to their child.”
This Christmas, your support can help make sure families like Abby and Ash’s never have to face their child’s hospital journey alone. Please donate to our Christmas Appeal today to keep families together this festive period and beyond by clicking here.
