Kerry Norris

On 6 November 2012 at 6.30am Harrison Robert Ray Norris surprised his Mummy that he was ready and it was time to go to the hospital. Once Kerry and James arrived they were told it was "too late to stop your labour, your baby is breech and we need to take you to a theater for an emergency cesarean now. We will be delivering your baby today!".

Harri was born via emergency cesarean at 7.33am at 33 weeks gestation. He weighed a tiny 4 pounds and only just fitted into 0000000 size clothes. Harri was a strong little man who fought so hard for such a young age. No matter what anyone said Harri was there to prove them wrong. Their beautiful boy struggled to breathe, feed and gain weight, requiring oxygen, steroids and nasogastric tube, along with the many other obstacles a premature baby faces. Harri was finally given the all clear at 21 days old. He was able to finally come home and be with Mummy, Daddy, Zackary, Hannah and Lachlan.

Harri had overcome many medical complications and was now able to feed all on his own, he was able to drink a whole 80mls. "We were so proud when he drank his first whole bottle, the joyful tears rolled down our faces. Once Harri came home we held him so tight after being so scared and not knowing what his fate had held previously; we didn’t want to miss a moment of what was to come for Harri".

In December Harri had a check-up with his doctor at the Hospital. Harri's doctor was very pleased with his progress; everything was great and Harri had finally hit 3 Kilos. Kerry and James were told they had nothing to worry about anymore - Harri was progressing perfectly and had finally hit the growth charts.

"We enjoyed our first Christmas, our first camping trip in Port Wakefield and we made our first new year’s wishes together. 2013 was going to be our year. We had so many plans, dreams and goals. We finally got to have our first family photo taken, it was perfect and worth the wait".

On 11 January 2013 their worst nightmares came true. James woke to find Harri cold and blue. James rang the ambulance while Kerry desperately tried to resuscitate her baby boy. The ambulance officers took over when they arrived, and Kerry and James held onto a glimmer of hope. The paramedics had to make Harri better, they just had to make Harri breathe.

After they tried for so long, they had to call it. At 8.30am Kerry and James were told there was nothing else the paramedics were able to do.

"Harri grew his angel wings and was no longer with us". With so many questions and no answers as to "why?", all Kerry and James were told was that Harri grew his wings at some point during the night. "This was not in our plan, this was not meant to happen, Harri had been given the all clear and everything was fine, he was healthy...".

"Our little man was taken away without a hint or a clue. We had no idea what he was about to do. We sat and laid on the bed with Harri for as long as we could, wishing it was just a nightmare and we could just wake up. No matter what we had done or what we wished we could do, we could not bring you back to Mummy and Daddy as much as we prayed for you".

Harrison Robert Ray Norris passed away from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Kerry and James may never have reasons or a cause of death for Harri. They will probably never know how or why. They will never have many of their questions answered, which is such a hard fact to accept but it is very true.

Premature babies have a higher risk of dying from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome as the receptors in their brain haven't been fully developed.

Kerry and James want to help raise awareness for premature babies, to help find a cure for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and to prevent any other babies growing their wings too early, while being able to support grieving parents and children by providing understanding, compassion and hope. As a result of their heartache they decided to establish Walk With Wings in honour of their precious baby boy Harri. Kerry and James aim to offer support and hope to other parents, to show them they are not alone, because they too lost their little baby.

"Harri's story is not finished and will never have an end as we will always live on with him in our hearts and in our minds. He is just playing with all his new Angel Baby friends up above watching down on all those he loves until he can be held in our loving arms once again." 

My son can not be here with us, but we can let his story live on by supporting families who have also experienced the death of their child. With your generous donation we can gift precious keepsakes to grieving families and support those who have their Premature Baby in hospital. 

Thanks so much for your support!