In our March edition of our Preemie Family newsletter we learned about the lovely Sofia, a preemie born at 24 weeks and 5 days, weighing 1 lb. 8 oz. and who spent 134 days in the NICU.
Read more in an update by her Mum, Becky . . .
by Becky Meechan, Sofia’s Mum and author of My Bubble Wrap Girl: Sofia’s Story
Sofia in the NICU
Sofia’s birth changed my life forever. I had taken so much for granted, yet I knew so little about just how fragile life itself is and how quickly and dramatically it can change. At about 20 weeks I knew there was a problem with my pregnancy, call it a ‘mother’s instinct’. By the end of my 23rd week I was passing fresh blood. My cervix was incompetent and the amniotic sac had prolapsed though it. My daughter’s life was at risk. I was admitted to hospital and given steroid injections to try and help my babies lungs develop and I was to remain in bed with my feet elevated, in an attempt to push the prolapsed sac back through my cervix. After six long days I went into labour (on Friday 13th February 2009) My beautiful daughter was trapped in a breech position inside my birth canal which resulted in Sofia being born via a complicated emergency C section.
Sofia then went onto to battle incredibly hard for life. The odds were stacked against her and she was dealt just about every horrific blow that extreme premature birth can throw at such a vulnerable and precious baby. Sofia underwent multiple blood transfusions, battled septicaemia, multiple organ failure, bleeding on the brain, oxygen starvation, lumbar punctures, major heart surgery (this was performed on Friday 13th March 2009) and eye surgery and many more.
Throughout all of this I had very little emotional support, which eventually lead to my breakdown. I then felt that I could no longer cope in the career I had worked so hard to build (as a forensic expert in the field of DNA profiling) and I left my job on the grounds of ill health and then declared myself bankrupt. As bad as this may seem, in hindsight, Sofia’s birth was the best thing that has ever happened to me. She has taught me the real meaning of ‘love’.
I have since gone on to write a book on our experience, My Bubble Wrap Girl: Sofia’s Story. Here is an excerpt:
…all around me people looked at me with knowing eyes. They knew Sofia would need a miracle to survive; she was just too early, and they knew they were a looking at a woman who may never take her child home and may never hear her daughter’s laughter as she grows up…
My world was turned upside down when my beautiful daughter was born 16 weeks early and I want to show the world just how incredible she really is. Against the odds she battled for her life. Sofia is now 4 and she really is my little miracle.
Sofia Today – A True Miracle
It is my aim to ensure that no other mommy feels the way I felt at the time and to show all that there can be a light at the end of the tunnel. Amongst us, there is an incredible, inspirational group of individuals who have battled more in their first few months of life than many of us will do in a entire lifetime and I want the world to recognise their existence and their importance. I am blessed with a beautiful daughter and I want to rebuild my life and make my daughter proud of her mommy and to give her the life that she deserves.
Author Becky Meechan and Her Lovely Sofia
Photo Credits: Becky Meechan
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