A mum and dad whose youngest child was born prematurely 21 years ago have made a heartwarming gesture to the medics who saved her life.
Karen and Andy Jones' daughter Elinor weight just under 3lbs when she was delivered 11 weeks early in 1998.
Staff at Wrexham Maelor Hospital in North Wales battled to save her life as she spent the first six weeks of her life there after suffering two brain bleeds.
As Elinor celebrated her 21st birthday, her parents donated £1,000 to the hospital's Special Care Baby Unit to say thank you for saving her life, NorthWalesLive reports.
The money will help to buy a new ventilator for the unit.
Mum-of-three Karen, whose family now live in Devon, said: "When my waters broke at 27 weeks and I realised my baby could be born 13 weeks early, we were naturally very worried that we could lose her.
“I will never forget the first time I saw Elinor, tiny, quite hairy and dark skinned, lying covered in tubes in her incubator, and the feelings of sadness at not being able to hold her.
“Elinor stayed in SCBU for six weeks, a difficult period of juggling for the whole family, particularly as it included Christmas.
"It was incredibly hard having to leave hospital without my new baby, but also hard having to leave our five and four year old at home, who also need you and don't understand why you can't be there."
Elinor was well enough to go home to Rossett, where the family lived at the time, on New Year’s Eve.
Her mum added: "There were certainly times during Elinor’s stay when we were concerned for various reasons and uncertain exactly what the future would hold.
"She had two brain bleeds, significant jaundice and countless tests and scans, but thankfully did not require ventilating or a blood transfusion.
"The staff on SCBU were incredibly reassuring and supportive, and the stories of the progress of other babies born as early and as small as Elinor kept me going.
“On New Year’s Eve we were given the best present ever – Elinor still weighed just under 4lbs but we could take her home.
"It was nerve-wracking at times caring for such a tiny baby, and whoever warned me that premature babies cry more was right, but it was fantastic to be home as a family after so long."
The family have kept in touch with staff at the hospital over the years.
Karen said: "We have supported SCBU, Cherish (the parent support group at SCBU) and Tommy's (the charity researching premature birth) in smaller ways over the years, by sending donations/raffle prizes, but we felt we would like to mark Elinor's milestone birthday more significantly.
"We also send something small each year to the staff to enjoy themselves as, having been on the ward over Christmas visiting Elinor, we saw first-hand how hard the team work to make it as nice as possible for those spending the Christmas period visiting their babies in hospital and away from extended family."
Elinor is now interested in science and medicine thanks to her contact with the hospital.
She achieved top marks in her GCSEs and A-Levels.
She is now in her final year studying medical science at the University of Exeter and is science editor of the university newspaper.
Karen Hughes, SCBU manager, said: “We are delighted to see how well Elinor has done and grateful for the continued support we have received from Karen and Andy and wish them all the best for the future.
"Happy birthday.”