Candice Foster

Angel Adelines 1st Birthday Fund-raiser

I am proudly raising funds for Hummingbird House, Queensland's only children's hospice, and a truly special organisation that provides support for families loving and caring for a baby, child or young person with a life-limiting condition. 

Hummingbird house provided our darling Adeline with end of life care, in August 2022. 

A little bit of our story below: 

On the 19th of August 2022, at 40 weeks on the dot our beautiful and perfect Adeline was born via emergency cesarian due to signs of distress during labour and meconium stained waters. Adeline needed brief resuscitation at birth, however when she cried and was fighting off the nurses we thought that everthing was going to be okay. Then, soon after birth, our darling was diagnosed with Meconium Aspiration Syndrome and Pulmonary Hypertention of the Newborn. As Adelines oxygen needs increased she was transferred to a higher care hospital and within 48 hours Adeline began showing seizure activity.
At 5 days old Adelines MRI scan showed significant damage to all parts of the brain and she was diagnosed with severe Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (a brain injury caused by lack of oxygen). This meant our little angel was not sustainable with life... Unfortunately the multiple mistakes and delays made at Adelines birth place contributed to this horrific outcome.
We decided to move to Hummingbird House for Adelines end of life care. Here we met our closest family and Adelines God parents, where we all gathered together to remove her breathing support and say our final goodbyes.
Miraculously Adeline survived 24 hours with us- doctors thought it would only be a few minutes. We were able to stay at Hummingbird House overnight with my mother and my partners mother. In those first 12 hours, it was like nothing was even a miss, Adeline breathing on her own and us sharing what felt like "normal" family time. This time at Hummingbird House is a time my family and I treasure deep in our hearts and we will never forget the kindness and care provided to us by such a magnificent team of earth angels.
That night at Hummingbird House Adeline slept on my chest as she began to experience apneas. The following day around 11am, our beautiful daughter Adeline took her final breaths in her Papas arms. Even as the colour left her body she was still the most beautiful baby I have ever seen 💗 Adeline our Angel 👼

By joining me in supporting Hummingbird House, you’re letting these families like ours know that you care, and they we are not alone.

Families lives are taken up by the 24/7 responsibilities of caring for their baby, child or young person living with a life-limiting condition.  Our support also means that they can access essential services like family support, a range of therapies, short respite breaks wherever they live in Queensland.

Together, let’s help them make every moment precious when time is short. Without those precious 24 hours at Humminbird House and their follow-up care, I don't know how we would have navigated this absolute tragedy. 

Thank you for your generosity and for getting behind this wonderful cause.