Mummy and Me Magazine August 2014 July 2014 | Page 36

Born 10 Weeks Early

Millie the

Miracle

Millie weighed just 3lbs 12oz and was taken
straight away to SCBU.

M

Millie ended up on a CPAP machine (Continuous
Positive Airway Pressure) to help her to breathe.
She also had jaundice, so was placed under
Phototherapy lights wearing a mask to protect
her eyes. In addition, she had to have an NG tube
placed through the nose, down into the stomach used for feeding and administering drugs.
She was given a routine ultrasound head scan
given to all preterm babies. We were taken into
a private room and were told that Millie had
Hydrocephalus. A watery fluid, known as CerebroSpinal Fluid (CSF). CSF is produced constantly
inside each of the four ventricles of the brain,
normally this flows through narrow pathways
from one ventricle to the next, then out over the
outside of the brain and down the spinal cord.
Hydrocephalus is caused by the inability for CSF
to drain away into the bloodstream.
One of the Consultants came and explained
Millie’s Hydrocephalus in more depth. The usual
treatment is to insert a shunting device to control
the pressure by draining excess CSF, therefore
preventing the condition becoming worse. He was
so nice, even drawing pictures and little diagrams
to help us understand more. He explained that
we had to wait and see whether Millie’s head got
any bigger. Sometimes at the start it can settle
down but if not Millie would need brain surgery to
be fitted with a shunt. We dried our eyes, put on
a brave face and went back to see Millie in her
incubator.
Day by day, Millie’s head was getting bigger. So
the day came for her to be moved to NICU. She
had continual testing of the fluid in her head to
check the pressure. The drawing of fluid continued
for about a week but was not working. Millie’s

36|

WWW.MUMMYANDMEMAGAZINE.CO.UK

I Love You Natty:
A sibling’s uplifting introduction to Down’s syndrome

head was still growing at a rapid rate, so we were
informed that she would have to undergo her first
surgery.
So Millie was taken to surgery a few days later
on the 22/04/10. We met the anaesthetist and
surgeons before being led to a small room to sign
the paperwork. Then we kissed Millie goodbye and
good luck. I was in tears thinking I would never see
my daughter again.
About 2 and half hours went by. Millie arrived, her
hair had been shaved on one side and she was
hooked back up having to be monitored around
the clock looking so fragile. 2 weeks later it was
not good news, Z[Yx