Lexi makes a perfect Mother’s Day present
Mum Yasmine Burnett celebrated Mother’s Day at the weekend with the greatest gift of all – her little girl who has spent the majority of her short life in hospital turned one on Sunday.
Little Lexi Alexander was born eight weeks premature in March last year and with a large gap in her oesophagus.
She spent nine months in hospital having surgery before being allowed home just before Christmas.
Yasmine and partner Michael Alexander say the family’s ordeal has been made better thanks to the Ronald McDonald Houses, the independent charity homes close to hospitals where the families of poorly children can stay.
Yasmine, Michael and his son Riley stayed at the Ronald McDonald House Tooting while Lexi was being treated at St George’s Hospital, at the Brighton one while she was at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital and also spent a few weeks in Ronald McDonald Family Rooms while Lexi was at Southampton.
Michael said, “Without Ronald McDonald House Charities we simply wouldn’t have been able to be with Lexi every day.
“When she was in Tooting, for example, we were a long way from home and it would have been difficult for us to travel there on the train every day to see her – we would have to stay at a Travelodge which would have been very expensive.
“The staff at the Houses we stayed in were brilliant, they were very helpful and the whole experience would have been a lot harder without their support.
“Staying at a Ronald McDonald House meant that I could still see my son while being close to Lexi and he could also come and visit her.”
While staying at Ronald McDonald House Brighton Michael and Yasmine found the support of the staff and other parents in a similar position to them invaluable for coping with their difficult situation.
Melissa Kirk, the house manager of Ronald McDonald House Brighton, said, “We made sure that we were always around if Michael or Yasmine needed us and let them know there was always someone there for them.
“At the Royal Alexandra they were literally just a floor above Lexi and when she started to get better she was able to go up to the room with her parents.”
Although Lexi is still is unable to eat normally and has to be fed via a tube, Michael says she is a very happy baby who, after so much time spent in hospital, is fascinated by the outside world and by animals in particular.
For her birthday Lexi’s parents were hoping to take her to a zoo.
Michael said, “It will be a perfect birthday trip.”
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Weather for Eastbourne
Sunday 26 May 2013
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 6 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 15 C
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Wind direction: South west
