Parents thank Forth Valley staff for looking after their wee hero

Meet little Ronin Wotherspoon who was born on June 12 – two months premature – weighing just 2lbs 9oz.

For the first five weeks of his life the only faces he saw were his mum Josie McLaughlin, dad Stephen Wotherspoon and staff at the neo-natal unit at Forth Valley Royal Hospital.

But now the little one is home after an eventful first few months in the world and his family is delighted.

They also say they can’t thank hospital staff enough for all they did for them.

Josie (23), said: “I went for a normal scan and they were like ‘come back tomorrow’ as they were concerned about how he was growing.

“It was difficult with the pandemic as I was having to attend all the appointments myself.

“I went to see the specialist the next day, the Friday, and they said ‘we’re probably going to book you in for a section on the Monday’.”

In the end Ronin was born by emergency c-section the following Friday.

Josie, a prison custody officer, continued: “He was born at 31 weeks and six days, arriving the day after his big brother Jack’s sixth birthday. His due date was August 8.

“He spent 38 days in the neo-natal unit at Forth Valley.

“It’s been exhausting going back and forth every day.

“It seemed like every time there was something else wrong.

“He had a bleed on his brain and he ended up developing a heart murmur. Then two hernias were found and he was severely anaemic but he’s managed to get through it all.

“He’s a wee trooper and he’s taken it all in his stride. He now weighs 5lbs 9oz.”

Josie and partner Stephen (28), an HGV driver for Barr’s, are full of praise for those at the Larbert hospital who looked after Ronin during his time there.

“The staff were absolutely fantastic with me and Stephen,” said Josie.

“The neo-natal team themselves and all the staff in there were absolutely brilliant.

“We couldn’t give them enough praise if we’re honest.

“He was in for about five and a half weeks so we became quite pally with some of them. They all loved him as he was so placid.

“He is a wee hero. He is a cracking wee baby and he’s definitely worth it all.”