Thank you

On our journey we've met and we've been supported by many wonderful and compassionate people  - health professionals (doctors, nurses, midwives), family members, friends, colleagues, neighbours, spiritual leaders, office workers, clerks... we couldn't have done it without you. We are very grateful and we would like to thank each of you for everything you've done for us:

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• Doctor Evelyn Chan for looking after MamaMus before, during and after the pregnancy; for being not only a fantastic doctor, but also a wonderful, understanding, caring and compassionate human being.
• Doctor Robert Boostanfar, our IVF specialist from LA, for his well thought out, flexible and very friendly approach to our problems, looking for answers rather than starting another course of treatment, and for his professionalism and real passion for helping people like us. He brought to us a feeling of warmth and trust and made our dream of becoming parents come true.
• Katie, a lovely assistant of Doctor Boostanfar, for her genuine and friendly nature always helpful and efficient. She instantly answered all our queries, patiently dealing with any unexpected problem, and genuinely cared about the result of our treatment.
• Doctor Philip Werthman, the most recognisable male infertility specialist from LA, for his professional assessment and advice (and as a result cutting PapaMus’s balls) and for his very approachable, friendly and gentle nature.
• Karen and Becky, two wonderful screening midwives from Warwick Hospital, who not only monitored MamaMus’s health, but have also offered tremendous psychological support throughout the whole experience. They became friends and confidants, helped us through our darkest moments, cried with us, prayed for us. Karen - for suggesting I write a journal documenting the whole pregnancy (that’s how the ‘MiniMus Book’ was born) and Becky for encouraging us to record MiniMus’s heartbeat - memories are precious - that’s all we are left with now.
• A lovely team at Labour Ward at Warwick Hospital - doctors, midwives, nurses, who looked after MamaMus during her frequent admissions with episodes of bleeding, for their excellent care, professional advice, kindness, compassion and understanding; also for all the hugs and words of encouragement.
• Doctor David D'Souza, a consultant obstetrician from Warwick Hospital, for his care, professional advice and reassurance, for offering MiniMus full support in spite of his poor prognosis, for arranging a split care and ordering frequent CTGs - without them we wouldn't have known that MiniMus needs to be delivered earlier and we wouldn't have had a chance to meet him.
• Sarah, a lovely midwife from Warwick Hospital, for raising concerns and acting on them, for waiting for half an hour in front of the operating theatre to 'grab' our doctor and arrange an additional scan for MamaMus; for her friendliness, kindness and compassion, real tears in her eyes when she learned what happened with Leo.
• A lovely team at Antenatal Assessment Unit in Warwick for checking on MamaMus regularly and monitoring MiniMus's heart beat, for raising concerns and promptly acting on them to provide the best possible care for MiniMus, for being compassionate, friendly and professional.
• All the fantastic doctors, nurses, midwives and other team members at Labour Ward in Coventry Hospital, who cared for MamaMus, performed emergency caesarean section and delivered MiniMus just in time after he became very poorly. Thank you all for taking an immediate action (in a matter of few minutes MamaMus's room was filled with people and she was taken to the operating theatre straight away) and as a consequence giving us a chance to meet our son, hold him and spend two precious days with him. Thank you for listening to us with true understanding and compassion.
• All the wonderful staff at Neonatal Unit in Coventry - doctors, nurses, midwives - (we are sorry, but at that stressful time we were unable to remember all your names). Thank you for taking such an excellent care of Leo, giving him all the possible help and support, and for giving us every opportunity to spend as much time as possible with him. You encouraged us to hold and cuddle him - giving us the most wonderful experience and unforgettable memories of the two precious days we spent with our son. Every single person who took care of Leo and dealt with us showed us not only professionalism, but also humanity, compassion, understanding, patience and respect beyond their call of duty. Thank you for listening to us, comforting us and being there for Leo and for us from the beginning to the end. We felt that Leo received the best care he could have.
• Sandip, a lovely nurse from Neonatal Unit at University Hospital in Coventry, for looking after Leo with care and compassion after he was born and helping MamaMus to bath, dress and take care of him after he passed away. Treating him with so much respect and care, even checking the water temperature for his bath as if he was still alive...
  
• Doctor Andrew Coe, a paediatrician from Coventry Hospital, for helping us to understand MiniMus's condition, respecting our decisions and allowing us to spend as much time as possible with Leo, for checking on us regularly, comforting us and showing understanding and compassion.
• Jo, a wonderful nurse from Coventry Hospital, for helping MamaMus & PapaMus by taking Leo’s hand and foot prints, keeping Leo company for couple of hours and giving a lot of support, understanding and encouragement after Leo passed away.
• All the wonderful staff at Postnatal Unit in Coventry - doctors, midwives, nurses, catering ladies, for being kind and helping MamaMus to recover after caesarean section, for looking after her with care and compassion. Thank you for allowing and taking MamaMus with her bed to Neonatal Unit so she can see Leo on the day he was born. For all the conversations, words of support, advice and real passion for helping MamaMus recover not only physically but also emotionally.
• Stephanie, the bereavement midwife from Coventry Hospital, for her help with organising Leo’s paperwork for release from the hospital, for showing a lot of understanding and compassion and offering lots of advice and help afterwards.
• Paul, a kind chaplain from Coventry Hospital, for baptising Leo, for praying for him and later for supporting us during Leo's cremation, for his non-judgemental approach, understanding and true compassion.
• Joyce and Pam, two lovely ladies working at the Leamington crematorium, for their help with organising Leo’s cremation and sorting out all the paperwork (only they know to what extent they went to help us). Thank you Joyce for being there for us during the ceremony, crying with us and showing true compassion and sorrow for our loss.
• All the staff at John Taylor Funeral Services in Leamington for providing a white baby casket on a very short notice and free of charge and for their discrete and respectful approach.
• Baba, PapaMus’s father, without whom our trip to LA and our treatment there would have not been possible - for his financial support, encouragement and real passion for MiniMus even before he was born. Thank you for all the prayers and love.
• Milenco, MamaMus’s lovely lodger and friend, for looking after her house and Whiskey, the cat, when she was away in LA for the treatment, for always being understanding, easy going and friendly.
• Alexandra, Milenco’s lovely girlfriend, for coming by train all the way from York just to see Leo for 15 minutes at the Coventry hospital, where he was born and for being a supportive and understanding friend.
• Tommy and Pam, MamaMus’s wonderful neighbours, for always trying to help even without being asked, for feeding Whiskey when MamaMus was away and in the hospital, cutting grass in the garden and supporting MamaMus throughout the pregnancy. Also to Pam for knitting a whole bunch of lovely cardigans and hats for MiniMus. We always thought they would have been lovely ‘grandparents’ to Leo.
• Ryjowki, MamaMus's brother and sister-in-law, for discussing with MamaMus tests and scans results, taking her to a consultant in Poland for an extra check up, helping her to keep up hope and for ordering a church service dedicated to MiniMus's health.
• Mamo, MamaMus's mother, for encouraging MamaMus to stay positive and enjoy the pregnancy in spite of the poor prognosis, for all the prayers and candles lit in MiniMus's intention.
• Rahman for being a real friend, who came to the rescue all the way from London, driving around the whole day picking up and dropping MamaMus and PapaMus at different airports around London.
• Ramona, MamaMus’s friend (also pregnant with her little boy born 5 days after Leo), for being a very supportive friend throughout the whole difficult pregnancy, for listening, taking MamaMus out, having long conversations and endless text messages, for crying and praying for MiniMus, for being there for MamaMus during her darkest moments and wishing with her whole heart for MiniMus to be born healthy.
• Paz & Ross, Papa and MamaMus’s lovely friends, for their continuous help and support, for countless meals at their house, for bringing MamaMus’s camera to the hospital which allowed her to take many pictures of MiniMus and capture the most precious memories. Also for coming to see Leo on the second day of his life, and for being supportive, compassionate and understanding friends that we can always count on.
• Krysia (Oka), one of MamaMus’s best friends from University and a mother of a sweet 15 year old girl with medical condition AFND, for a level of understanding and valuable advice that can be only offered by someone who went through a similar experience, who really understood what MamaMus and PapaMus were going through. For her wise and emotional words, real life advice and for showing MamaMus different way of looking at the whole experience.
• Poddurgielek, MamaMus’s lovely Polish friend from high school and now a busy businesswoman and mother of three, for always finding time to drop a few lines via email (usually 5am or just before midnight) For checking on MamaMus, sending invitations for an apple crumble or a chicken soup, talking about books, moose, scans, anything - for cheering MamaMus up and being there for her when most needed.
• Paula, MamaMus’s former colleague and friend, for staying in touch in spite of having a very busy life herself (3 small children, full time job, household and a working husband), for all the supportive text messages, for finding time to meet up, for listening and helping MamaMus come to terms with her loss. Also thank you for some lovely clothes for MiniMus.
• Ann, MamaMus’s former colleague and friend, for her encouraging messages of love and support during the pregnancy and after Leo passed away.
• Shahnaz for always wishing MamaMus and PapaMus happiness, staying in touch, praying for MiniMus during the pregnancy and after he passed away, for giving MamaMus a special necklace to protect her from bad people and events, for all the thoughts and care.
• Hannie, MamaMus's friend from China, for all her words of support, messages of love and taking on knitting for the first time in her life just to be able to produce a scarf for MiniMus.
• All the members of MamaMus's family in Poland, PapaMus's family in Iran, friends from different parts of the world, friends on social media - for thinking of us, wishing us well, praying for Leo, for all your messages of love and support.