On the 10th of Jan 2019, what should have been an amazing, exciting day for us, turned into a nightmare. At 40+3, after a tough pregnancy, with Rijkje suffering all the way through from severe morning sickness and liver issues. The hospital decided it was time to get things going and induce labour.

All was going well until very suddenly, the pain became unbearable and the red cord was pulled. Rijkje was rushed away for an emergency c-section. That was the last I saw of her for four hours. Four hours where I didn’t know if I would ever see her again, or get to meet my baby. Finally, at 2:30am they wheeled unconscious baby Elsie Rae out of theatre. At this point I was informed that Elsie had suffered from a suspected seizure and may have been without oxygen for more than 10 minutes, possibly resulting in brain damage. She was immediately cooled as a preventative measure and was to be transferred to Luton and Dunstable NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care).

All of this whilst the surgeons were busy trying to save Rijkje, as it transpired that She had suffered multiple organ rupture and a haemorrhage - her womb, uterus and bladder had basically split in half, birthing the baby into her abdomen.

Rijkje came out of theatre at 3:30, extremely dosed up on morphine and waking up from a general anaesthetic, just in time to see me and Elsie being transferred by the ANTS team (Acute Neonatal Transfer Service)

After six days at L&D, and after being woken from 72 hours of cooling, the neonatal team discovered that Elsie had an infection in her gut which needed urgent surgical review. She was to be transferred again, this time to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge to be near a surgical team. ANTS stepped in again to make the journey with Elsie, once again leaving Rijkje behind to continue her recovery.

Elsie was a patient in Addenbrooke’s NICU for 38 days. After 2 weeks of antibiotics and attempting to get her to tolerate milk, the surgeons discovered that Elsie had a hole in her intestines, probably caused by her traumatic birth. She was rushed in for emergency surgery.

After 6 long weeks, Elsie is finally coming home. She is recovering well but will need additional surgery in the future and we are awaiting the results of her MRI scan.

In the time Elsie has been under the care of the NHS, there have been various charities who have helped us. We would like to give something back to them as they have helped make this journey more bearable.

I, along with some friends, will be taking part in Tough Mudder on the 4th of May to raise some funds for ANTS and the Neonatal unit at Addenbrooke’s. The staff there are absolutely amazing and their work is invaluable to the families who end up in their care. We cannot thank them enough.