|
|
home>
birth stories>
unexpected outcomes>
molly-roses story
|
Our True Little
Miracle
by Shusannah Morris
Molly-Rose was born on the 5th February 2003 at 25 weeks (3
months early). Little did we know when we made the big
decision to start a family what lay ahead. |
|
 |
We started IVF in August 2002, keeping a very positive and open mind
as we knew it could possibly be a long road. We took the normal
course of drugs and then came the big day, they put two little
embryos back and we all prayed hard for a positive result. What
happened next caught everyone off guard. For some unknown reason I
had a rare reaction to the drugs and ended up in ICU at Epworth
hospital, with severe hyper-stimulation, my right lung had collapsed
then my left lung partially collapsed. My stomach had also started
retaining fluid. Throughout the next 8 weeks in hospital I underwent
numerous procedures to drain litres of fluid from my lungs and
stomach and had continuous x-rays to ensure they could see what was
happening.
In the middle of it all, 2 weeks into my hospital stay they took a
pregnancy test and found I was indeed pregnant, and that the hormone
levels in my body were quite high and this was possibly what was
causing the body cells to release fluid, my ovaries at this stage
had grown to the size of grapefruits and had literally taken control
of the body. I could barely walk with the pain and my stomach had
grown so big. I was told I had a high chance of not keeping the
pregnancy.
Finally after 2 months I was released from hospital and had a
wonderful few months, with continuous scans and tests and at every
one, bub was still there, growing bigger every day, proving them
wrong. I willed her on with all my strength. Then at 20 weeks I
started bleeding heavily and ended up in hospital for the remainder
of the pregnancy. Five weeks later at 26 weeks Molly-Rose decided
she would join us and at 8.20pm on Wednesday 5th Feb 2003 she was
born weighing 880grams (less then a pound of butter), no bigger then
my hand, amidst quite a commotion at Cabrini hospital. The NETS
ambulance arrived very shortly after and she was whisked away to the
Royal Women’s Hospital. My lasting memory of that was seeing this
tiny little face peering out from a mass of bubble wrap tucked up
inside an incubator. I followed with my Hubbie driving the car, I
don’t think either of us really understood what had just happened,
we were in a sort of limbo. Did I just give birth?
When we arrived at the RWH they took us to the Neonatal Intensive
Care ward (NICU), and so began our fast track introduction to a
whole different world. A world of beeps and humming machines, good
days and bad. You soon learnt a good beep from a bad beep. The NICU
became a new home for us, the nursing staff our new family. It took
me 15 mins before I could approach Molly-Rose’s incubator, all I
could see at first was a lot of tubes and wires, then somewhere
under them all I made out the tiny form of our little baby girl. My
heart broke, what had I done, how could I let this happen, I kept
saying sorry over and over again. It was late and the blue glow from
the lights on the baby next to us lit the area we were in. The next
24hrs were critical for her and we sat by her all night, praying god
would let our little girl live and give her the strength to battle
this.
 |
 |
Molly-Rose was in hospital for a total of 117 days (4 months), it
was a mixed bag of ups and downs, good days and bad days, days when
you couldn’t see that light at the end of the tunnel and days when
it was quite clear. In those fours months we went forward a few
steps then back a few steps, then forward again. She had chronic
lung disease, which was making it a little difficult for her to get
off her breathing machine (CPAP), we had a few attempts then after
43 days it happened. A wonderful day for us, then came the count
down to her coming off oxygen. She caught golden staph twice, the
first time she was very ill and we had her christened in the
Incubator. The usual blood transfusions, heel pricks and IVs. She
had ROP stage 3(eye disease) and then developed haemorrhaging behind
the right eye, which lasted for weeks, at one stage we were told she
might lose her sight in it. She was a terrible feeder, we would get
so far and then end up back on a continuous feed drip, but finally
after lots of perseverance from the staff we got the mls up, this
meant she was very slow to put on weight, though to this day food is
definitely not the centre of Molly-Rose’s world. I will never forget
the first time I got to hold her when she was 2 weeks old, an
amazing feeling of love and admiration for this little person filled
me. Every little feature so tiny, except for two big blue eyes that
spoke volumes to me. People asked how we coped, I told them that we
drew our strength from her each day, as we watched with such
admiration as she battled the odds, if she could do this we
certainly could. She was one month corrected when we finally took
her home on the 4th June 2003 weighing 2656 grams. The day we left
was one filled with absolute joy, excitement and nerves, we’d always
had someone around to guide us, from now on it was just the three of
us, a family at last. We stood at the entrance of the hospital door
as we left, took one deep breath of fresh air and walked on into our
new life together.
Since leaving we have spent a lot of time back and forth to the
Royal Children's Hospital, she has been back in hospital twice for
respiratory issues and ended up back on oxygen for a while at home
but we do our best to get over a hurdle and move on. We can never
thank enough the staff from the Royal Women's Hospital and the staff
at Frances Perry House where she spent time in the special care
nursery, without their fantastic work and marvellous support I don’t
know how we would have got through. They are all our angels and we
can never thank them enough. The other prem mums I have made good
friends with since leaving have been a great source of strength for
me and I thank them all, they are a wonderful group of strong women,
who all have amazing stories of their own to tell. It was these
great friendships and encouragement from the RWH that spurred us on
to start Life's Little Treasures
www.lifeslittletreasures.org.au for Parents like us. We
don’t want any parent to have to go through this experience alone.
Molly-Rose has grown into a most wonderful little human being, she
is very active and social, always eager to discover her surroundings
and meet new people, and she is now 4 1/2 years old and weighs 14
kilos. To watch her walk around as she busily gets on with her day
is a constant source of enjoyment to me; I’m never far from a tear
of Joy. She has fought all the odds from IVF onwards and won and she
takes this feisty attitude with her in everything she does today.
She has taught us much about over coming difficulties in life and
the power of positive thought.
Having Molly-Rose has opened a door in my heart that I never knew
existed and I thank god every day for the absolute honour he has
granted me in having such a beautiful little girl for my daughter.
Download Molly-Rose story
(including lots of pictures) - PDF document
Disclaimer
The
information contained on this website is of a general nature and is
designed for educational purposes only. The information is not meant
to replace the recommendations or advise of your midwife or doctor.
Please consult your midwife or doctor regarding your health care.
|
