A MUM has shared her story of why she believes the work of one of Bolton's busiest hospital services is so important.

When Olwyn and Lee Thornley welcomed their first child into the world it was after a long and difficult struggle to become parents.

But within hours of meeting their baby girl, their happiness and longed-for-family lay in the hands of the staff of Royal Bolton Hospital.

Robyn would spend eight days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and rely on the help of staff months after her premature birth.

Now in the run-up to her first birthday, mum Olwyn has spoken out about the team who helped her only daughter become a 'happy' little girl.

She said: "The unit was absolutely amazing and without them, we know that our daughter simply would not be here.

"When you go into hospital to have a baby it is an exciting time and you imagine scenes of what it will be like when your baby is born being a family and the joy that comes with all those thoughts. You do not ever imagine for a minute that your baby may not be coming home with you."

The Bolton unit consists of 37 cots in total, which include nine Neonatal Intensive care cots, seven high dependency cots and 21 Special Care baby Unit cots.

Last year staff had 700 babies in our care, all counting on their help for a variety of reasons, including being born prematurely and being born at term but unwell.

Sometimes premature babies stay as patients on the unit for several months, while babies born at term or near term stay from as little as one night, or less, to several weeks, depending on the severity of their illness.

It is also one of three units in Greater Manchester who provide Neonatal Intensive Care to the Greater Manchester area, sometimes even taking babies from much further afield.

In the Thornley's case they were looking forward to welcoming the birth of their first child in Bolton.

Olwyn, aged 39, and Lee, aged 47, who live in Atherton but are originally from Westhoughton, had previously been trying for a child but sadly suffered a number of miscarriages.

Eventually they decided to try one last time and as they weeks ticked by their hopes and reams grew stronger.

Olwyn explained: "We had so many miscarriages, you kind of give up and don't want to try again.

"However, we decided to give it one last shot getting through to 13 weeks was the worst as we had been through it all before and did not think we would get any further but then we got to 36 weeks and it was a massive thing for us."

At 36 weeks Olwyn had a scan which showed her baby had a heart problem. The best course of action was to induce the birth and after a five hour labour Robyn was born on at midnight on November 18.

At first overjoyed to finally welcome their baby into the world, in a matter of hours her health had deteriorated significantly.

She had an irregular heartbeat and had developed severe jaundice, as well as needing a blood transfusion or risk suffering from brain damage.

The doctors rushed her to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and she was immediately placed in an incubator under phototherapy lights to try to reduce the jaundice levels.

Olwyn said: "We were told that she was in a critical condition and the next 72 hours were crucial for her.

"The doctors and nurses in the neonatal unit were absolutely amazing and spent time with us explaining everything that was happening with our daughter.

"She seemed to make good progress until the Sunday evening when she suddenly stopped breathing.

"There were concerns she would not make it through the night. Robyn again stopped breathing on the Monday morning and the nurses had to intervene once more. From this point, our daughter seemed to turn a corner and her fight to live was evident.

"She made huge progress over the next 24 hours, her phototherapy lights were taken down and her breathing had stabilised."

The family were guided through the process by Consultant Neonatologist Dr Shanmuga Sundaram, explaining "every detail" of Robyn's heart scans as well as liaising with Dr Giovanni Ciotti, Consultant Paediatric Cardiologist at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, on how best to treat the baby girl.

She made good progress and was discharged on November 26, just three days after her heart had stopped.

The family were given life support training by the unit and shown how to administer her medication. They were also given priority at home should it be necessary to contact the emergency services and open access to E4, the Children’s Ward at Bolton.

At home the family welcomed the unit's the outreach team everyday for a month, and every other day until January this year, as well as regular visits to see Dr Ciotti.

Robyn made tremendous progress and after eight weeks was withdrawn from her heart medication.

However on February 3, her heart stopped once again but the family used the training they received to stay calm and get the treatment she needed at Bolton hospital and she was discharged the following day.

"Since then, she has come on in leaps and bounds and continues to amaze us every day with the progress she has made. She is a happy girl and a fighter too!" Olwyn adds.

"The staff at Bolton gave us the chance to be a family and this has been the most amazing year of our lives. Robyn is the best thing that has ever happened to us and we will always be grateful to everyone that cared and continues to care for her.

"There were babies much worse off than Robyn but the staff at the unit are just unreal, the amount of care and the way they take care of everyone is just amazing.

"They made our dream come true and we will always be grateful to them."

The couple are now fundraising for the unit with a raffle, with a top prize of a newly fitted boiler, and proceeds will all go the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Former Wigan and Great Britain Rugby League Star, Martin Gleeson, will draw the raffle on November 19 at 2.00pm. Tickets cost £5 and are on sale at Royal Bolton Hospital Main Entrance and coffee shop.