Our Ambassador Gemma Collis' Story

My name’s Gemma Collis, and I’m a four-time Paralympian and Wheelchair Fencer for Great Britain. 

In 2018, I became the first British woman to win a Wheelchair Fencing World Cup, and in 2023, I repeated that feat, becoming the World No. 1 for the first time in my career. Over the years, I’ve won over 20 World Cup medals, Commonwealth Fencing Championships Gold and in 2024 won European Championships Silver. 

But long before all that… I was an Ickle Pickle baby, born weighing 2lb 11 ounces at 29 weeks. 

Funnily enough, my memories of what happened around that time are a little hazy! Or perhaps more accurately… non-existent! So I had a chat with my Mum, who told me our story… more on that below!

But first… I just wanted to say how enormously honoured and proud I am to be named an Ambassador for the Ickle Pickles Children’s Charity! 

I’ve been so incredibly fortunate to experience some truly incredible things in my life so far, and none of that would have been possible without the care my Mum and I received when I came crashing into the world earlier than planned!

Which is exactly why the work Ickle Pickles do is so vitally important. They ensure that premature babies like me get the care they need to ensure they have the very best chance to survive, so that in later life they can go on to thrive in whatever field they set out to. 

That’s why I jumped at the chance to be an Ambassador for the Charity, and I cannot wait to begin working with them and all of you to ensure every Ickle Pickle gets the start they deserve!

Gemma’s Birth Story as told by her Mum, Karen

“I took annual leave at Week 28 as I had some to use up, and was due to start my Maternity Leave at Week 29 anyway. I thought it would give me a bit more time to prepare. 

Things didn’t work out quite that way, though. On the 1st day of my official Maternity Leave at Week 29, my waters broke. 

We travelled to High Wycombe from our house in Prestwood, where I was checked over and told my waters were seeping – but that there was still enough fluid around the baby. 

Transfer to John Radcliffe Hospital

Unfortunately, due to an infection outbreak at Wycombe Hospital Special Care Baby Unit, all babies under 30 weeks and women in labour under 30 weeks had to be transferred to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. So off we went. 

Once there, I was put in a room on my own in isolation to prevent infection and was given a course of steroid injections to help your lungs. 

4 days after admission, I had a high temperature, so the decision was taken that I would be induced. I was feeling a mixture of excitement to meet you and anxiety, because they were delivering early for your safety. 

However, any feelings of joy were short-lived. When things didn’t progress as expected and with my temperature still up, the Doctor decided to do an examination, during which my Placenta ruptured as the Doctor hadn’t realised I was Placenta Previa. 

I remember feeling intense pain, and my bed being rushed down a corridor. I remember your Dad helping push the trolley and hearing them tell him they would try to save us both. 

Delivery via Emergency C-section

After that, all I remember is smelling rubber… and nothing again until I came to in Intensive Care, when I woke to find the Doctor sitting by my bedside. He told me we had a baby girl…. delivered by emergency caesarean on the 10th of October at 8pm, 11 weeks early – and that you were safely in the Special Care Baby Unit.

I desperately wanted to see you, but the nursing staff said I had to wait until morning, as I wasn’t yet up to it. Sensing my urgency, the Doctor bundled me, my catheter and sick bowl into a chair and wheeled me across to see you. 

I remember feeling sheer joy at seeing you, but then being so very sick, I don’t even remember getting back to my bed.

When I woke the next morning, your Dad was sitting beside my bed. He said you were doing really well, but that they would wait 24 hours to see if you were viable before giving you Surfactant to help your lungs. So once again, there was that familiar feeling – joy, closely followed by fear. 

Gemma’s stay at the Special Care Baby Unit

Fortunately, you did brilliantly. During your stay in the Special Care Baby Unit, you were on a ventilator and given Surfactant, then high-flow Oxygen. You were also NG tube-fed. We spent as much time as we could with you at the hospital, whilst relatives began knitting clothes to fit your tiny body. 

In total, you spent three weeks at the John Radcliffe Special Care Baby Unit before being transferred back to High Wycombe.

On discharge on the 17th of November, you had some issues with your body temperature, so at every feed, your cot had to be warmed with hot water bottles before you were put back down. We were advised to keep you indoors at all times, to be reviewed at follow-up appointments. 

Going outside for the first time

You finally went outside in your pram for the first time in February 1993, at which point we were given the go-ahead to treat you like any other baby, and told that we could go out and about with you, just being careful around anyone with a cold. 

From then on, you were simply a difficult baby/toddler… nothing like your younger sister when she came along a couple of years later! 

You were almost impossible to get to sleep, and even harder to keep asleep. Putting on Mary Poppins or The Jungle Book became our go-to when it came to getting you down!

But you were healthy, happy and thriving. The only real nod to your early arrival was your lack of hair, but it soon made up for it when it did come through!

Growing up to compete at the Olympic Games

It wasn’t long before your early arrival became a thing of the past, as you grew up into a sporty, clever, determined little thing, desperate to one day represent your country at the Olympic Games. 

Never have we been prouder when we got to watch you fulfil that dream in front of a home crowd at London 2012. Our tiny little girl…. all grown up and fighting it out with the best in the world.”

A proud Ambassador for the Ickle Pickles Children’s Charity

As Ickle Pickles' new ambassador, Gemma Collis is committed to raising awareness of prematurity and supporting Ickle Pickles’ fundraising challenge, the 28k Incubator Push. 

Join Gemma to open this one-of-a-kind charity challenge at 10 am at Crystal Palace (Anerley Hill, London SE19 2GA) on Saturday, the 7th of June. Over 90,000 babies every year are cared for in neonatal units, and your support can make a huge difference. 

Get your Ickle Pickles T-shirt fitted and sign up for a lap, or register your team and take turns to push a road-worthy incubator for 28 km around Crystal Palace Park to raise 28k for an incubator and vital neonatal equipment.

Together, we can give every newborn a chance.

Social