Meet Ella, our double miracle! Our journey of welcoming her into the world had a few extra bends and turns along the way. Our dream of having a family was made a reality through the help of science and IVF. On the 4th of September 2017, we received our first positive pregnancy test and we were beyond excited! The pregnancy was smooth and we didn’t have any hiccups until the 6th of March.
Chris was out playing hockey and I was home alone. I had just got out the shower when I started bleeding. Shock, panic and utter fear filled me. I rushed to the hospital and was admitted. My Gynae came in and told me that my membranes had ruptured and I was in active labour. They gave me steroids to try and mature her lungs as well as medication to stop labour. Unfortunately, it did not work and within an hour Ella was born via an emergency c-section at 29 weeks. It is by the absolute grace of God that she survived because I had had a full placental abruption. She was ventilated immediately and transferred to the NNICU. The next few weeks are all a blur with every day spent sitting next to her incubator.
During week 2 her sats kept dropping. The doctors thought it was because of her reflux but a respiratory swab indicated that she had contracted the Respiratory Syncytial Virus, which can be deadly in premature babies. Premature babies have underdeveloped lungs, and when placed in conjunction with the fact that they missed out on the important antibodies passed from the mother through the placenta during the last three months of pregnancy, a perfect storm can be created. They are at higher risk of developing an illness because their immune systems are not as strong, and a simple cold can cause respiratory distress and re-hospitalization. As a result of this, we would do anything in our power to assist Ella’s immune system in any way we can.
There is a vaccine called SYNAGIS to help with this virus. SYNAGIS gives babies who are born prematurely (at or before 35 weeks, and who are 6 months of age or less at the beginning of RSV season) the infection-fighting antibodies they lack, helping protect their vulnerable lungs from RSV. The RSV season has just begun in Gauteng and extends until the end of August. Each dose of SYNAGIS helps protect Ella from severe RSV disease for about a month. SYNAGIS should be given to high-risk babies every 28-30 days during RSV season. That means that Ella will need to receive a total of 5 injections. These injections are incredibly expensive at over R10 000 per shot. She received her first injection whilst in the hospital and was therefore covered by the medical aid. However, all subsequent injections totalling more than R40 000 will need to be covered by us. As you can imagine our expenses have been exorbitant over the last two years with the IVF and Ella’s NNICU stay.
Any donations to help us make sure Ella gets the vaccines she needs would be truly appreciated beyond comprehension.
Thanking you in advance.