14/05/2026
> There are some queues you don’t want to skip. I learned that lesson, nearly nine years ago. Myself and my pregnant wife were sitting in the waiting room to see our doctor. I was bunkering down for a good couple of hours when we were called straight away. I knew there were other people ahead of us, so I realised something wasn’t right in fact, about two weeks earlier the doctor told my wife to stop working because the baby hadn’t grown in a couple of weeks. They assumed it was due to the physical demands on my wife, Erica, and she stayed home to rest. That is a common enough experience during the last couple of month of pregnancy, so we weren’t overly concerned. In fact, we had a bit of fun with it — she had a little bell to ring when she wanted something and told me the baby was hungry! Off I went to feed the baby. The baby doesn’t like Champions League, she likes Location, Location, Location. The baby was a little diva.
> But when we were called so quickly that morning, we both looked at each other with worry. As we sat there and listened to the words coming from the doctor’s mouth, I never felt so vulnerable in my life. The doctor explained my wife had tested positive for cytomegalovirus (CMV) a common infection, particularly for school teachers, but very dangerous in the last trimester of pregnancy. Words like “leading cause of disability in babies” reverberated off the cold white walls of the hospital, as well as: “It’s important to manage your expectations of the baby,” and “just be there for her”. I really didn’t know what we were being told. I was outside myself looking down.
> When Sophie was born, Erica looked back, trying to see if her baby was okay. “Is she jaundiced?” she asked without a care for herself. She wasn’t. She was 2lb 6oz. Our journey with hospitals had only begun.
Sophie stayed in the hospital for 12 weeks.
> The reason I’m writing about this is because Sophie made her communion last week. How lucky were we that we got to share that with all our family. I thought of all the other babies that didn’t survive and the families that missed out on that joy. Life is so fragile, we forget that sometimes in the busyness.