By Adrian Grove
23 April 2009
On April 7th 2008 our son was born, eight weeks early. He weighed 4lb 9oz and only needed little help from the Special Care Baby Unit at Ipswich Hospital.
He quickly grew stronger and was doing very well. He remained in the care of SCBU learning how to feed independently.
However, when he was just twenty days old, he began to show signs of infection. He was treated with antibiotics and placed on a ventilator but he did not improve. He had constant care from doctors and nurses throughout the day and night.
The following day he was transferred to Addenbrooke's hospital, where it became clear that Cayden was extremely ill and was not responding to touch, or moving his eyes.
An MRI scan showed severe brain damage, and swabs taken at Ipswich came back showing Group B Streptococcus. We were advised that Cayden was very unlikely to survive the infection and if he did, he had suffered severe brain damage. Heartbroken, we agreed to remove life support, and held our baby boy while he took his last breaths.
We took comfort from the fact that he was no longer suffering, but was shocked to the core. Only two days before, he had been well and we had been planning to bring him home. The post mortem examination showed Cayden had a late onset Group B Streptococcus infection, Septicemia and Meningitis; he only lived for twenty-two short days. Life since we lost our only son has been unbearable, and explaining to our two-year-old daughter has been impossible.
In memory of our son, we wanted to raise awareness of Group B Strep, and the charity who have supported us in the last 12 months, Group B Strep Support.
We decided to hold Cayden's Autumn Ball at Ufford Park Hotel on the 25th September 2009.
The evening will consist of a welcome drink, three-course meal, half bottle wine and live music by the Ed Zachery band. There will also be a charity auction with some fantastic lots to bid on (sport and celebrity memorabilia, original and limited edition artwork) with all proceeds to go to GBSS.
You can contact Adrian Grove on 07505 277 425.