‘Miracle’ triplets return home

Friday 29 June 2018

A set of 'miracle' premature triplets from Jersey have finally returned to the island after months of receiving life-saving treatment in the UK, and will hopefully be discharged from hospital next week.

Born at just 25 weeks, Willow, Jasper and Primrose have already undergone several serious operations before being transferred back to Jersey Hospital last week, with the hopes of being discharged next week.

In addition to coping with the trauma of their children receiving intensive treatment, Rebecca Bennett and her husband Daniel were embroiled in a dispute with Social Security, who initially said that the couple would not receive income support whilst they were based in the UK.

The triplets underwent several emergency surgeries including heart surgery, stomach surgery and laser eye surgery, alongside various other life-saving treatments whilst in the UK, but their mother says they are now gaining weight and doing well. 

Pictured: Willow, Jasper and Primrose (left to right) who are finally back in Jersey after months of intensive care at hospitals in the UK.

Although Jasper and Primrose are still on oxygen, all three of the ‘miracle’ babies are now four-and-a-half months old and each weighs over five pounds.

Rebecca went into labour just 25 weeks into her pregnancy and was transported to Portsmouth Hospital via an emergency helicopter in February, because Jersey does not have the facilities to care for babies born under 32 weeks.

The couple subsequently won their fight to receive States' support whilst Rebecca was out of the island, but she is now fighting to get the law changed for every islander who finds themselves in the same situation.

Rebecca told Express that Social Security were under the impression that all hospitals in the UK provide all the essentials for babies in their care, like clothes, nappies and blankets, but Rebecca said that this was not the case at Portsmouth – she and her husband were having to provide all of these items. 

Rebecca said: “In Portsmouth and in other hospitals that’s not the case, so we were still having to supply all of their nappies, all of their clothes… things like cardigans and blankets, everything. 

“So that was the problem, but I’ve obviously raised awareness to them [Social Security] and said: ‘Look, not all parents are in a situation where a hospital is providing all that is needed’. They apologised and said that people in that situation where they’re not having those things provided for them will receive the help if that’s the case. Which is amazing, it’s a massive step.”

Pictured: The 'miracle' triplets are now doing really well and hopefully will be discharged next week. Top: Jasper, Willow and Primrose (left to right), bottom: Willow, Jasper and Primrose (left to right).

Although Rebecca sees this as progress, she said that wants to see this change written into current legislation to ensure that other families don’t have to go through the same difficulty and her petition to get this change enshrined in law has reached almost 20,000 signatures.

“I think that the way that the law is written should be changed. It’s such an emotional time anyway - we’ve been through so much together as a family. It would have helped so much not have gone through that as well so I’d like to have that change so that other families in our situation in the future can go through their journey without that added stress.”

Pictured: New parents Rebecca and Daniel are trying to get the law changed so that other families will be supported in future.

Although the couple had to fight for States’ support, islanders rallied to help the new parents through a JustGiving page set up by a friend of the family, Jessica Silver, which raised over £5,000. This money allowed for Daniel to fly over on the weekends when he wasn’t working to visit his wife and babies in the UK. Rebecca also said that she and the family were greatly supported by the Grace Crocker Foundation. 

Rebecca added that she was incredibly grateful for everyone’s support through this difficult time: “I just want to say a massive thank you to everyone who helped contribute to the JustGiving page and those who shared our story to help raise awareness about our situation."