David Moffet

The following is a brief biography of David Moffet from information provided by parents Nikki & Nigel Moffet, the latter affectionately known to most of us as "Moff".

David's due date was July 28, 2004. I went into hospital on the March 21, 2004 with stomach pains and bleeding, which got so severe on March 28, 2004 that the doctors decided that if David was born he would not be viable to save. He decided to come into this world at 2:30 am on March 31st, 2004 at 23 weeks gestation, a full 17 weeks premature.  He decided that he would be staying with us and made so much noise and struggled for life that the special care baby unit was called for and they took him away. He weighed 1 pound 7 ounces (645g) and statistics gave him a 17 percent chance of living beyond a week; a nightmare scenario for any parent.  He has proved them all wrong and we finally got to hold him after three weeks, which is when we both knew he was here to stay.

At 10 weeks old; he developed an infection in his eyes called "Retinopathy of prematurity" which meant he had to have laser surgery on his eyes to kill the additional blood vessels that were growing and shouldn't be. Although the operation did its job, it has left David with quite a lot of scar tissues over his retina and some of which has actually detached, so at present we still have no idea what David can see. As his mother I'm convinced he knows the difference between light and dark but that's about it, but believe me, it certainly hasn't made any difference to David except that he has no fear and is a complete risk taker and would love to be strapped on the back of his dad motorcycle!

He spent 110 days in hospital and came home on oxygen, which he no longer needed to be on just before his first birthday.

We have had issues with David's hearing as well, (David does not perform well in doctors tests). He has had a grommet inserted into his right ear, which helped with his balance. I have always been convinced he could hear and just before Christmas last year we had the news that David can definitely hear without hearing aids to distinguish between voices and hear some words but with his hearing aids on he should be able to hear as normally as possible and eventually talk. ( He can say mum, dad, and baba at the moment along with other baby babble).

David is walking so we have no worries there, but if anyone can give us tips on how to get him to sleep for longer that 3 hours at a time and maybe all night we would be eternity grateful!

Thank you so much for your fundraising for David. It was so unexpected and we are all truly grateful. Nikki Nigel

Little David is obviously a fighter and while extremely tenacious, he continues to face some challenges and as honorary Uncles and Aunts, it gives us great pleasure to do what we can to provide David with the chance he deserves to live life to its fullest.

David at 1 pound 7 ounces

Nearly 3 months

Approximately 1 year old

Current