There is, of course, no good time to be in a hospital.
But Christmas in a hospital just feels terrible. Now, add to that being in hospital over Christmas with a premature baby struggling to grow stronger.
Baby Kamila gets a feeding of breast milk at the Royal Columbian neonatal intensive care unit. Photo: Cornelia Naylor
That’s the reality for families in the NICU at Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster.
Doing something about this is Ashley Durance, a Chilliwack mother whose daughter Hazel was a patient at the RCH NICU after being born at 23 weeks and weighing under a pound.
Durance is spearheading a campaign to collect items to create 24 Christmas stockings for NICU babies.
Here’s a link to her shopping list – just click HERE.
The items were carefully chosen based on sensory needs, developmental needs, and infection control.
She plans to collect everything, build the stockings, and deliver the goods on Dec. 18 to ensure all the babies have a Merry Christmas.
