As families head home for Christmas, a young mother has revealed how she will be spending the festive season with her premature baby daughter in hospital.
Hayley Somerset was in Melbourne to judge the showjumping Championships when she went into labour at just 25 weeks.
The Queensland woman gave birth to her little daughter Mary Jane on the night of September 18 at the Royal Women’s Hospital.
The newborn girl will celebrate her first Christmas in a hospital cot – more than 2,300 kilometres from her family home in Mackay.
Little Mary Jane Somerset (pictured) has been in hospital after she was born at just 25 weeks
Mother Hayley Somerset (pictured holding little Mary Jane) will be spending their first Christmas together in hospital
‘At the start you don’t feel like a mum… not what you pictured in your head,’ Ms Somerset told 9News.
‘Just as long as we’re together, we’re pretty happy,’ she said.
Her husband Myles has been travelling in between Mackay and Melbourne to see his family as much as possible.
Little Mary Jane is just one of a dozen babies at the hospital spending their first Christmas away from home.
Despite the difficulties, hospital staff workers will spread some festive cheer on Monday to ensure families can enjoy a special day.
The Queensland mother was in Melbourne to judge the showjumping Championships when she went into labour at just 25 weeks
Family and friends have set up a fundraising campaign in an effort to help fly Mary Jane home for the first time with her mother
Against all odds, little Mary Jane has proved to be a little fighter after she was deemed ‘strong enough’ to fly from Melbourne to a major hospital in Queensland.
But the flight has taken a financial strain on the family, as loved ones rally behind the mother and daughter to help them raise money.
Family and friends have set up a GoFundMe campaign in an effort to help fly Mary Jane home for the first time with her mother.
‘Baby Mary Jane had surgery and has been getting stronger and stronger by the week,’ the post read.
The newborn girl will celebrate her first Christmas in a hospital cot – more than 2,300 kilometres from her family home in Mackay
‘While Mary Jane can’t travel to Mackay as the local hospital is not equipped to care for her, she is getting strong enough to be medically evacuated from Melbourne to a major hospital in Queensland allowing her to be closer to home and Hayley to have some more familiar faces around and be closer to family.
‘The devastating part of this great news is that it will be very expensive to get a medical flight from Victoria back to Queensland and will be a bill that the family needs to pay.
‘Once they are back in Queensland the expenses will continue with accommodation and life away from home for quite some time yet.
‘We are asking for anyone who can, to give even just a few dollars. Every dollar adds up and with your help, love and assistance we can bring baby Mary Jane home to Queensland for the first time.’