SUPER-GRIFF: "IF IT WASN'T FOR HUMPTY I WOULDN'T HAVE SURVIVED
December 10, 2024
By Griffin Vautier
My name is Griffin and I want to tell you a little story about me – and how I came to know and love Humpty.
I just turned 10 – but I was born a whole 12 weeks or 3 whole months too soon.
I weighed a teeny-tiny 986g and my parents told me I was the size of an iPhone. My head was the size of a mandarin and I had tiny little arms and legs. My skin was see-through and I couldn’t open my eyes as they weren’t ready to see yet.
I couldn’t breathe, because my lungs weren’t ready to do their job yet, and my heart kept stopping because my brain wasn’t ready to keep reminding my heart to beat. I could hear and feel everything though, and even though I don’t remember it, I know I would’ve been scared. Really scared.
The morning I was born, Mum said it felt like a party in the room because there were so many people in there. It wasn’t a party though – they were all waiting to whisk me away, and as soon as mum pushed me out, I was taken and the doctors and nurses urgently worked on me to make sure I survived. Dad went with me and he told me he was really sad. Mum was sad too because she was in the room by herself, not knowing if I was okay.
Later that night, Mum and Dad were allowed to come and see me in what would be my home for the next eight weeks: Royal North Shore Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
They weren’t allowed to hold me or cuddle me. But I heard their voices and started to cry. Mum said it was more like a whimper though, that sounded like a little mouse
They were allowed to open the little door in my humidicrib and although babies born too soon don’t like to be stroked as it can hurt them, Mum and Dad were taught to very gently put their hand on my head. It helps little babies calm down when they’re scared.
The NICU is only for babies, so my parents couldn’t stay with me. Mum said leaving me every night was the hardest thing she had to do, but she felt safe knowing there was a room full of amazing nurses caring for me. I had one dedicated to me 24 hours a day.
When I was 3 days old, I was allowed to come out of my humidicrib and mum was the lucky one who got to hold me first – probably because she’d done all the hard work so far!
Mum says it was the happiest and saddest moment of her life. Holding her miracle baby was wonderful, but she was so frightened because I was so fragile.
And because I was still so sick, I was only able to lie on mum’s chest for 10 minutes before my alarms started going off and the nurses had to put me back into the safety of my humidicrib. Mum says the beeping of the machines drove her crazy some days because when a machine beeped, it meant a baby was having a hard time.
All these machines had little Humpty plaques on them and my parents realised that we were surrounded by something pretty amazing. People had donated their hard-earned money to save the lives of babies they’d never meet. I think that’s pretty cool.
Everything that was keeping me alive was from Humpty.
The pump mum used to pump milk for me was donated by Humpty. The recliner chair mum or dad sat in for a skin-to-skin cuddle with me was donated by Humpty. The humidicrib that kept me warm and safe was donated by Humpty. If it wasn’t for the entire team and everyone who’s ever donated to Humpty, I wouldn’t have survived.
I’ve collected a lot of money since I was born – a little over $10,000 which has meant I’ve been able to donate 5 pieces of equipment myself. Each piece has ‘Super-Griff’ on it to help other parents and babies going through the same thing. For my birthday each year, I don’t ask for presents. I ask for people to donate to my Humpty account and I use that money to buy something from Humpty’s Wish List.
From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank anyone who’s ever donated to Humpty. If it wasn’t for Humpty, I wouldn’t have survived. Everyone is so generous and I hope by reading my story you love Humpty as much as I do.