Harrison’s Little Wings was founded in 2010 by Melanie McKenzie, following the birth of her son, Harrison who lived for only 28 hours due to an incurable condition, diagnosed at 20 weeks.
Harrison Alexandar McKenzie lived for only a short 28 hours due to an incurable condition called Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia. His 28 hours of life was 28 hours of pure fight and courage from him. “As a mother, to watch your baby fight so hard, and struggle, and to then watch your child lose that battle is the most heartbreaking tragedy a mother can ever experience.”, says Melanie.
Harrison’s life has changed his family’s life. According to Melanie, “We were so blessed to meet our beautiful son and to have the most precious 28 hours with him. Harrison’s life has left a mark on our hearts, and we want to spread what we learnt from him.”
Through our pregnancy we did not have any family support, which made continuing with our pregnancy extra hard. We had other children to care for and having to juggle family and appointments made life extremely challenging, emotionally and physically. We were building a house and paying rent, so we did not have available income for things such as car parking at the hospital.
Throughout this difficult time, we were blessed with a few special friends who helped in amazing ways. One friend vacuumed my floor and another cared for my 18-month-old toddler while we were at appointments. This made such a difference in our lives and I will be forever grateful. Being blessed with such caring friends inspired Harrison’s Little Wings.
Not all families have family and friends to support them through this difficult time. Some families may have family and friends who can support them emotionally but may be unable to help practically or vice versa. Our practical support program at Harrison’s Little Wings has been designed to provide a wrap around service to fill any gaps in support.
Harrison’s life has left a mark on our hearts, and we want to spread what we learnt from him.
