In 2021, Sarah and Peter Handscomb were excited parents-to-be, with Sarah pregnant with her first child, Jack.
Sarah, a neuro-physiotherapist and equestrian, had experienced a normal pregnancy and was doing everything she enjoyed, including riding horses.
“We had a straightforward pregnancy up until the 20-week scan when they found that my cervix might have been a little bit short. At this point, I was still riding three horses a day, so obviously I had to stop that,” Sarah says.
Peter and Sarah with baby Jack in the NICU
Along with treating her cervix, Sarah was also diagnosed with gestational diabetes.
Despite these hiccups, Sarah described her pregnancy as ‘trotting along’ until she was eight-months pregnant.
“At 31 weeks and five days, I was sitting on the couch and Jack gave me a massive kick and my waters broke,” Sarah says.
Peter, a professional cricket player, was in Sri Lanka for work, so Sarah was home alone, driving herself to the Emergency Department (ED).
“I had a beautiful registrar in the ED, Ignatius. He was wonderful and I’d actually had him a couple of times previously in clinic. We did a few tests, and they confirmed my waters had broken. So that meant that we did steroids immediately and got sent up to the ward and stayed there until Jack was born,” Sarah says.
Peter was able to jump on a flight back home to be by Sarah’s side in preparation for the birth of their child. Sarah went into spontaneous labour six days later and Jack was born prematurely. He then spent four-weeks in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and Special Care Nursery (SCN) at Mercy Hospital for Women (MHW).
Sarah and Peter never anticipated that Jack would be born prematurely, but they are so grateful for the care they received.
“We just want to pass on our huge thanks for the care Jack received. People were so loving towards him and so compassionate towards us. The level of care was fabulous.”
“Now our little boy is thriving. He rides his bike for an hour at a time. We are so grateful for the staff at the Mercy and we hope that they’re able to keep providing that care to other families in need,” Sarah says.
Peter, Sarah and Jack
In lieu of gifts for Jack’s first birthday, the Handscomb’s asked for donations to support the NICU and SCN.
“Given our experience, it was nice to be able to raise money to help the Mercy because it was a tough time for us. Anything we can do that helps other families during that time is amazing. And for Jack’s first birthday, it was a pretty good present for him,” Peter says.
Every year, Mercy Health provides care for 2,400 premature babies, like Jack.
This wonderful donation from the Handscomb family and their friends will help fund vital care and equipment needed to support tiny babies so they can grow, thrive and develop healthily.
If you would like to host your own fundraising event to support Mercy Health, please contact the Foundation team more information.
Last reviewed December 5, 2023.