From premature birth to giving back through starting a charity: Rachael from Ickle Pickles | S3E52
For many parents who’ve been through NICU, giving back to the people and hospital that supported them through the process is something that can help them with healing from the trauma of that experience. For today’s guest, Rachael Marsh, giving back came in the form of starting “Ickle Pickles”, a children’s charity that helps to donate life-saving equipment to NICU wards across the country.
Rachael and her husband, Andy, were thrown into the world of neonatal care after her son, Charlie, was unexpectedly born at 28 weeks and spent time in NICU. From not opening his eyes for three weeks, to experiencing brain bleeds, being in the neonatal unit was a terrifying time for the family, but now, Charlie is a 17 year old singer at a music college who is thriving and loving life.
In this episode, we talk about how going through NICU impacted the family emotionally, Charlie’s developmental milestones and the impact being born prematurely had on him growing up, whether anything has changed in neonatal wards in the 17 years since Rachael’s time there and why starting the Ickle Pickles charity was so important to Rachael and her family.
In this episode, we’re chatting about:
- The emotional impact of premature birth and neonatal care
- Why Rachael decided she wanted to “give back” by starting the Ickle Pickles charity
- How giving back can help with healing
- Post traumatic growth
- Her son Charlie’s experiences growing up and the life he lives today
Take what you need!
[00:47] Rachael’s story of Charlie’s premature birth
[04:09] The impact on Rachael
[07:58] Starting Ickle Pickles
[12:40] How other parents can give back too
[14:36] The impact on Charlie growing up and where he is now
[18:03] What giving back means for Rachael
[24:34] Advice if you’re going through it right now
[27:16] Connect with the Ickle Pickles charity
A huge thank you to Emma at Cover My Bubble for supporting our podcast - you can find out more about all that Cover My Bubble offer at www.covermybubble.co.uk
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