Woman born prematurely is reunited with her doctor

A woman who was born prematurely has been reunited 35 years later with one of the doctors who cared for her in a special unit.

When Robyn Harris was born in June 1989, she weighed just 1lb 10oz (737g) and was cared for by Dr Kevin Ives, in the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, for 107 days.

Her family was also helped by the unit's charity - Supporting sick newborn and their parents (SSNAP).

Ms Harris said she is now an an occupational therapist as a result of the "professional care" she received.

Ms Harris' mother Sylvia said, at the beginning of her time on the ward, she had felt "quite isolated".

Robyn was born at 25 weeks instead of 40, and according to her family, she weighed "less than a bag of sugar" and was "the length of a banana".

"The professionals kept saying to me that there was only one outcome to this," Mrs Harris said.

"I said 'just put my food inside the door because this baby is coming home with me.'"

Robyn was discharged on 29 September 1989, around her mother's original due date.

She told BBC Radio Oxford she was "incredibly grateful" for the doctors and "many nurses" who had cared for her.

"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them," she said.

Robyn's father John said: "We had a lot of kindness from the staff at the SCBU and wonderful professionalism from all of them. No question about it."

During their interview, the family was surprised with a visit by Dr Ives.

He said it felt "absolutely amazing" to look at Ms Harris now.

"We used to call a room with six beds 'the hot room', I think you were the first on the left," he told Ms Harris.

Now retired, he was 35 when she was born.

"I'm lucky enough to be a trustee of SSNAP, so that keeps a tie with the unit for me," he said.

"It does show what has been important in my career."

"I have followed SSNAP’s journey with great interest and think the work which SCBU and SSNAP do is absolutely fantastic," Ms Harris said.

To mark her 35th birthday, Ms Harris has donated to the charity and been back to visit the unit.

She said that becoming an occupational therapist in 2014 had felt like "a full-circle moment".

Her father shared a poem he had written in tribute and gratitude to all the medical, nursing and staff team at SCBU.

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