Welcome home baby Ulrich!
Thabazimbi – Baby Ulrich van Eeden was born in a car at only 24 weeks on Wednesday 17 August 2022.
His mother, Marchell van Eeden, started to feel early pains while on holiday in Sodwana Bay with her husband, DC van Eeden.
Platinum Bushvelder shared Ulrich’s story in our Friday 23 September 2022 issue.
They arrived in Sodwana on Saturday 13 August and hoped to get some good rest and quality family time. But on Tuesday 16 August, just as they were getting ready for bed, Marchell started to feel a pain in her side. Marchell woke her husband up at around 00:30 and said that she wasn’t feeling well and suspected that she was going into labour.
They then quickly contacted their doctor who advised them to get to a hospital as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the nearest hospital was Mseleni Provincial Hospital which was about 40 kilometres away! They hit the road but only made it to about six kilometres when Marchell calmly asked her husband to stop the vehicle as their baby boy had just made his way into the world!
Little Ulrich only weighed 595 grams and was 26 cm tall. Because of his early birth and size, Ulrich’s chances of survival seemed very bleak, which meant that he had to be hospitalised in Richards Bay for the last couple of months.
Thankfully, good news arrived on Monday 21 November when Ulrich successfully drank 35 ml of fluid from his bottle and had his injection. He weighed a healthier 2,47 kilograms and on Wednesday 23 November the family was informed that Ulrich could finally go home. On Friday 25 November little Ulrich and his family finally arrived home safely in Thabazimbi to a warm welcome.
DC is part of the Matlabas-plaaswag and Marchell van Eeden is a volunteer at Thaba Fire and Rescue. They received an elated welcome from members of the Community Policing Forum (CPF) and Thaba Fire and Rescue (TFR), who specially designed a jumpsuit for little Ulrich with their printed logos.
“We are ecstatic to have the Van Eeden family back where they belong with Ulrich, and we are thankful that he is healthy! Welcome home our little fighter!” said Pierre Loots, director of TFR in an interview with Platinum Bushvelder on Wednesday 30 November.
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