Day 19 - Project

Day 19 Project.

Today was a tough day again. I am working on my photo tribute project for day 23 and I just kept breaking down, and all the anger at the hospitals came flooding back.

So needless to say, it was a bit difficult to explain the project I am working on, but I think once I have accomplished it, I will be on the road to healing a lot of that anger.

I have a few projects I am busy with at the moment in Joaquims name. One of them is to help the Government hospital that treated him in the beginning, to establish a new policy for breastfeeding and neo natal milk expressing procedures. I had extreme challenges trying to provide milk for Joaquim in the hospital, as they do not allow you near your baby when you express. They have no facilities, so most mothers express while sitting on the floor, and they have no sterilisation facilities so we had to express into little bags by hand. SO that is our biggest project at the moment, we have already started contacting companies for donations of hospital grade breast pumps, and we have contacted the professor at the university to get permission to have a dedicated room to accommodate mothers who need to express. My project will include painting the room, and decorating it in a calm serene theme, and providing comfortable seating. The biggest challenge will be to get them to change their policies, but I have the backing of La Leche league, and loads of commitment.

The next project is aimed at the Private hospital that refused to treat him the day he died. I want to create memory boxes for families to take home instead of leaving the hospital with empty arms and broken heart. In the boxes will be a print of babies hand or footprint, a lock of their hair, a small candle, a teddy bear, and a pamphlet that I am working on with all the links to support groups, and grief tips that I have found useful. At the time it’s the last thing you think about, but in time, you realise that everything you treasure, other than your memories, are inside that box.

I found a huge lack of empathy from both hospitals, and I think that Joaquim would love if I could create awareness, so no more babies and parents need to suffer the way we did.

I am also making wool angels carrying babies, to support bereaved moms.

For Joaquim personally, I am making a quilt out of all his baby clothes, and I participated in the prayer flag project that Carly marie had on remembrance beach on October 15th.