Looming parenthood had Richmond couple Emma and Dylan Anselmi “over the moon” after 13 years together and three years as husband and wife.
They were expecting their first child Lucy to arrive healthy and safe in May last year, a moment they would cherish forever.
Instead, Emma was diagnosed with severe preeclampsia and was flown to Wellington for monitoring, but her condition deteriorated and Lucy stopped growing inside the womb.
On day nine, Lucy was delivered via emergency Caesarean section on 17 February, at 27 weeks, weighing an “overwhelming” 870 grams.
What followed were weeks spent beside hospital monitors at Wellington’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and later Nelson Hospital’s Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU), learning to structure life around feeding schedules, medical updates and the uncertainty of a critically unwell baby.
“It was very stressful. It was the great unknown as well,” Emma recalls.
“I was sent to Wellington for about four weeks of monitoring, hoping to come back to Nelson to have Lucy, but it just wasn’t meant to be.”
Lucy required respiratory support to strengthen her lungs and underwent retinopathy of prematurity screening, phototherapy, and blood transfusions.
New dad Dylan travelled to Wellington on his days off, supported by National Travel Assistance, while Emma’s parents took turns travelling weekly to be with their daughter and granddaughter.
“We read to Lucy day and night so that she knew we were always there,” Emma says.
“One week after Lucy was born, I was able to hold her for the first time.
“Every day we would do kangaroo cuddles for hours on end, which is so vital for premature babies.”
Alongside doctors and nurses, the Anselmis were supported by the Little Miracles Trust, an organisation Emma describes as invaluable during a time of fear and uncertainty.
The trust provides emergency care packs, practical advice, financial assistance, and weekly family lunches for families with babies in neonatal care.
“We could get a $100 voucher towards groceries or fuel once a month, and they are always there, ready to have a chat if you’re having a tough day,” she says.
“Once a week they would have lunches so all the parents could come together, and you could just have a moment away from all the incubators and monitors.
“That’s how I met a few friends in NICU as well, which I’m still in contact with today.”
Emma and Dylan say they are deeply grateful for the support they received.
“A huge heartfelt thanks for all their love and support. It means the world to parents in our situation. Having them there meant so much.”
This year, Lucy had two birthdays, one on 17 February, marking her arrival, and another on 14 May, her original due date.
While Lucy will continue to be monitored, Emma says she is now “the happy, smiley self that she is”, and remains “the light” of her parents’ lives, ‘their little miracle’.
