Docklands resident joins the Walk for Prems

On Sunday, October 27, families across Australia will walk together in support of the 48,000 premature or sick babies born in Australia every year. Docklands resident Haley Orme will be there.

The Walk for Prems is the Life’s Little Treasures Foundation’s largest annual fundraiser. This year will be the 10th walk and will take place simultaneously in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Hobart, Canberra and Perth.

Haley Orme lives in Yarra’s Edge and will join the Melbourne walk in Albert Park with her 18-month-old son Xavier.

“Xavier was born at 30 weeks. I had to go to hospital because I had stomach pain and it turned out I had something called HELLP syndrome,” Haley said.

“My liver and platelets were dropping, so it was my body shutting down not Xavier’s. They stabilised me and took him out via caesarean.”

Haley didn’t see Xavier until the next day and due to his premature birth, he developed a hole in his lungs. He breathed through a chest tube for a week, when his lungs had healed enough to breathe on his own.

“His first week of life was a bit crap but from then on he was doing really well,” Haley said.

But Haley’s recovery was months long.

“I just had lots of blood tests, lots of swelling and blood pressure issues afterwards so my recovery was a few months of getting the blood pressure under control, getting the thyroid under control,” she said.

Haley said Life’s Little Treasures had created a community, as well as an important awareness raising initiative.

She will be walking with mums she met in the Royal Women’s Hospital who are from all around Victoria.

“I got to stay at the Women’s until we were discharged because they’re in our catchment, whereas everyone else had to move back to Ballarat or Sunshine, or other hospitals,” she said.

“Fundraising is obviously important, but I think the awareness is the most important because before I went through this experience, I had no idea about Life’s Little Treasures and what they did.”

“I think it’s important that people are aware that there is an organisation out there to support you going through these hard times.”