As written by Ava
My life was not very easy at the start, I was a premature baby. Born at 23 weeks and 5 days and I weighed 645 grams. I spent about 4 months in the NICU, then I came home to my family.
For about a year and a half I had extra oxygen through a tank and tubes, sometimes I feel sad when I see photos of me as a baby with the tubes. Plus I had one of my vocal cords damaged when they put a tube down my throat to help 
me breathe when I was in hospital. So if i did singing, it was very very quiet.
In my family there is my Mum (Bex), my Dad (Chris) and my older brother (Jedi). I love my family.
When I started pre-school, I didn’t have many friends, except for these nice kids called Jack and Ira. Jack and I now go to the same primary school and I have met a lot of really good friends, we had great teachers for all our years. They have been Lee, Jo, Mrs Huntington, Alison, Miss Plant and now Jason (for year 6). I really enjoy primary school and have fun.
I have had operations to help fix my vocal cords. I don’t like operations, but I like how they have helped me be a bit louder. People ask me why I have not got a normal voice, or if I have a cold or sore throat? But that’s just the way I am. A funny, kind, lovely girl with some problems with her voice!
I’m ok just the way I am, with my voice, a hearing aid for my right ear and glasses. It is who I am. I also used to have to have lots of physio when I was younger, to help with sports. The sports I do now are netball, swimming and ballet, I really enjoy all of them. 
I also like to do dancing at home too, plus I have a netball hoop as well! My favorite hobbies are: drawing, dancing, singing, playing piano, writing stories, running, biking and… yoga! I want to be an author when I’m older. I love drawing in my books, any type of books eg. writing book, maths book, and … art drawing book.
I’m going to be in year 7 in 2020 and I am so happy. Thank you for reading the story of my life.
*** Thanks for sharing your story Ava! ***
We get a lot of positive feedback from families in a neonatal unit who read these stories and feel strength, hope and positivity knowing that they are not alone going through these experiences and feeling certain emotions.
If you would like to discuss sharing the story of your neonatal journey, we’d love to hear from you. Please email info@littlemiraclestrust.org.nz
Interested in how The Little Miracles Trust supports families going through the stress and anxiety of a neonatal journey?
Here’s a gallery of support examples.