Famous warrior
As a keepsake artist I have the pleasure to meet amazing people everyday. Each keepsake has a special story attached, one that is personal, preserving and enduring. This is the soul reason why I love what I do, there is an attachment to these stories that moves me. Some are shared easily, others remain guarded and internal. I respect every decision that is made by the story’s owner and I am forever grateful just to be along for the ride.
Sometimes stories need to be kept to treasure, while other times they should be shared for awareness. Birth stories are ones of true power and strength and there is nothing short of that in the birth story of little Louella Mary.
Beautiful Louella enjoying snuggles with her mumma Sally
Her mother, Sally, was convinced she was going to come early, but the obstetrician continuously reassured her that clinically it would be her best pregnancy out of the three. But as we all know, mother instinct is not something we should shy away from. Sally was 27 weeks and still working full time as a paramedic. Let’s be honest, raise your hands if you were still working at this stage of your pregnancy? I most definitely was, even after several sly warning comments from my obstetrician to slow down. It wasn’t until she started feeling fatigued, unwell and started to get the Braxton hicks regularly that she felt something wasn’t right. Sally went to the hospital where they gave her steroids to slow everything down. She wasn’t dilated at all, so hospital staff were convinced that she would be home in a few days to sit out the rest of her pregnancy. Staff were urging her to rest as she started vomiting, but Sally felt like she was going to give birth and wanted to have a shower. As she stood to head to the bathroom, her waters broke. Louella was quick, and dad only just made it to the hospital in time to witness the birth.
Louella was born 1.1kg, septic and very quickly dropped to 900g. Sepsis is a serious medical condition caused by the body's response to an infection. In newborns, sepsis can cause swelling throughout the body and possible organ failure.
Louella was born weighing 1.1kg
Newborns can get sepsis in several different ways and there are several factors that can contribute to it. A few ways are, if the mother has an infection of the amniotic fluid, a premature birth, low birth weight of the infant, if the mother’s water breaks early (more than 18 hours before the baby is born), if the baby is being treated for another condition while still in the hospital or if the mother’s birth canal is colonized with bacteria. In this case Sally had an infection of the amniotic fluid called chorioamnionitis.
After the longest four months of their lives Sally and her family were able to bring Louella home weighing at 2.2kg. Her battled didn’t end there, she had delayed development and was diagnosed with Global Development Delays. Global Development Delays is believed to affect about 1-3% of the population. The term Global Developmental Delay, or GDD, is used when a child shows delays across several areas of development. Each child is different and the effects of delays may present in different areas such as fine motor skills or speech. Louella is currently two year old and now waiting to have a MRI to look at a brain lesion she has.
Louella’s name is of German origin meaning “famous warrior”, of which she is in name and being. Her road may not be an easy one but this little fighter has so much love and strength surrounding her to help her through.
Dad, Nick, embracing a gentle hug with his tiny bundle of joy.
Sally has since undergone several major surgeries after this birth due to chorioamnionitis, and still isn’t fully recovered, with many more major surgeries to come. It uncovered major immune health issues that saw her go through several infections. But knows that her family is there together to help each other make it through the toughest of days, and that they are a complete unit. Premature babies are high risk to a condition called Necrotising enterocolitis, a gastrointestinal disease that involves infection and inflammation causing death of cells in some or all of the intestine, making breastmilk all the more important for her to consume. Her keepsake reminds her of the countless hours she was attached to the pump to help feed Louella and the strength from her family entwined to stick together. It represents her three babies which she is reminded of every time she looks at them.
Sally with her keepsake rings representing her three gorgeous children
If you would like to help make a difference to the lives of these families or would like to read more about the causes and effects of GDD, please head to :
All five together enjoying precious family time
References:
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/15371-sepsis-in-newborns