Adam Smith
Isabella's story...
Fundraising for Norfolk and Norwich Hospitals Charity
Story
Isabella was born on June 9th 2017 and it's down to NICU at the N&N that she is still with us....
My wife's pregnancy was perfect until the last moments and went horribly wrong. Just before Isabella's birth her heart rate was dropping extremely low with every contraction my wife was having. The surgeon decided the only way that Isabella would survive was if Ashlea would have an emergency C section. That ordeal was scary enough but what followed was truly a horrific nightmare.
Upon delivery Isabella wasn't breathing or moving, she was lifeless. She was whisked away by the midwife and needed to be resuscitated by several doctors and nurses. She was then transported to NICU and the work on Isabella continued. Myself and Ashlea were petrified that our baby wasn't going to pull through and our thoughts were cemented by the consultant who twice told us to prepare ourselves for the worst as she was very poorly and things weren't looking good. The following hours/days/weeks were horrendous. The worst of my life. We were told that Isabella had suffered a stroke and 2 other life threatening conditions which were affecting her brain & lungs (HIE & PPV). She was also having seizures, picked up a terrible infection, had a heart murmur which potentially needed operating on and part of her brain had been damaged. I lost count of x-rays, ultra sound scans, MRI scans, ECG's, EEG's and not to forget all the canulas she had in the 5 weeks we were in NICU. Isabella fought and battled for her life and things started improving after the second week of being in intensive care. We then started to receive better news....infection levels started to decrease, ventilator come out and she started breathing on her own, we got to hold her for the first time, her heart murmur had healed over, seizures had stopped, no longer needed antibiotics, hearing and sight tests were now good and our amazing little girl was pulling through.
Isabella is now 7 months young and her personality is really starting to shine through. We still have regular hospital appointments but she keeps defying the odds and is doing remarkably well. Everyone that meets her falls in love with her and her amazing smile. It literally brightens every room and we couldn't be prouder to call ourselves her mum & dad.
I have no idea how such a little person can overcome so much! But I do know without the work and care of the Consultant's, Dr's and Nurses that she would not be with us today. Me and my wife will never be able to repay the staff in NICU for what they did for our family, but I wanted to do something that would push myself and I've thought 'if Isabella can go through what she went through, then I can complete a couple of challenges myself!'
The first of the challenges is the 3 Peaks which I shall be completing along with 10 friends. Then secondly I will be running the Edinburgh marathon!
Hopefully this will go some way to show that we are truly grateful for them saving Isabella's life. X
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
My wife's pregnancy was perfect until the last moments and went horribly wrong. Just before Isabella's birth her heart rate was dropping extremely low with every contraction my wife was having. The surgeon decided the only way that Isabella would survive was if Ashlea would have an emergency C section. That ordeal was scary enough but what followed was truly a horrific nightmare.
Upon delivery Isabella wasn't breathing or moving, she was lifeless. She was whisked away by the midwife and needed to be resuscitated by several doctors and nurses. She was then transported to NICU and the work on Isabella continued. Myself and Ashlea were petrified that our baby wasn't going to pull through and our thoughts were cemented by the consultant who twice told us to prepare ourselves for the worst as she was very poorly and things weren't looking good. The following hours/days/weeks were horrendous. The worst of my life. We were told that Isabella had suffered a stroke and 2 other life threatening conditions which were affecting her brain & lungs (HIE & PPV). She was also having seizures, picked up a terrible infection, had a heart murmur which potentially needed operating on and part of her brain had been damaged. I lost count of x-rays, ultra sound scans, MRI scans, ECG's, EEG's and not to forget all the canulas she had in the 5 weeks we were in NICU. Isabella fought and battled for her life and things started improving after the second week of being in intensive care. We then started to receive better news....infection levels started to decrease, ventilator come out and she started breathing on her own, we got to hold her for the first time, her heart murmur had healed over, seizures had stopped, no longer needed antibiotics, hearing and sight tests were now good and our amazing little girl was pulling through.
Isabella is now 7 months young and her personality is really starting to shine through. We still have regular hospital appointments but she keeps defying the odds and is doing remarkably well. Everyone that meets her falls in love with her and her amazing smile. It literally brightens every room and we couldn't be prouder to call ourselves her mum & dad.
I have no idea how such a little person can overcome so much! But I do know without the work and care of the Consultant's, Dr's and Nurses that she would not be with us today. Me and my wife will never be able to repay the staff in NICU for what they did for our family, but I wanted to do something that would push myself and I've thought 'if Isabella can go through what she went through, then I can complete a couple of challenges myself!'
The first of the challenges is the 3 Peaks which I shall be completing along with 10 friends. Then secondly I will be running the Edinburgh marathon!
Hopefully this will go some way to show that we are truly grateful for them saving Isabella's life. X
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.