When Mollie’s mum, Alison, went for her 12 week-scan, she found out her baby had a high chance of being born with Down Syndrome. Mollie arrived 25 weeks later with no signs of Down Syndrome, but Alison quickly realised something wasn’t right with Mollie’s breathing. This is their story:
12 Week Scan
Mollie’s journey all started at my 12 week scan. The sonographer told me there was a very high chance Mollie would have Down Syndrome. This in itself caused panic and upset, but I decided not go for any of the tests offered because I knew I would love my baby no matter what.
My 35 week midwife appointment was incredibly traumatic. On finding that my baby’s heartbeat was dangerously low, the midwife told me to rush into hospital straight away so doctors could monitor her.
Mollie’s Arrival
Mollie was born at home at 37 weeks, with no sign of Down Syndrome.
Two days days after she was born, I knew something wasn’t right with her breathing. The midwife was due to come round and visit, so I pointed it out to her. She saw why I was worried and immediately called 999.
We rushed Mollie straight into intensive care. There, they discovered she had three holes in her heart. This was undoubtedly one of the worst moments of my life. To see my precious newborn baby all wired up was just so upsetting.
Since that initial stay in intensive care, Mollie has been in hospital four times. She wasn’t putting on weight and then she kept getting bronchiolitis.
Future surgery for Mollie’s VSD
Two of the holes in Mollie’s heart have closed up, but her paediatric cardiologist is very worried about the position of the VSD. We will attend a check up appointment in June where the doctors will discuss surgery with us.
Mollie is now seven months old. Due to the frequent bouts of bronchiolitis, Mollie is now on a Ventolin inhaler because she can get very wheezy.
Having Mollie has changed my life. The experience has made me want to study maternity support, so I can help other mums and babies. I’m also keen to get involved with charities such as Tiny Tickers.
Things that used to matter before don’t seem so important nowadays because I’ve realised how fragile life is.
Update: Nine years later
It’s hard to believe that the little seven-month-old baby whose story we first shared with Tiny Tickers is now an amazing nine-year-old girl.
Mollie has been through so much since those early days. As she has grown, she has also been diagnosed with autism, selective mutism, global developmental delay, hypermobility and asthma. She still experiences bouts of bronchitis too, so there have continued to be challenges along the way.
But Mollie is so much more than her diagnoses.
She is a lovely, happy little girl with a wonderful personality. She absolutely loves arts and crafts and can happily lose herself in being creative. She also loves Barbie, music, dressing up and horse riding.
Looking back at the tiny baby in the photographs from our original Tiny Tickers story and then looking at Mollie today feels incredibly emotional. At the time, there was so much uncertainty. We didn’t know what the future was going to look like for her.
Nine years later, despite everything she has had to deal with, Mollie continues to bring so much happiness to our lives.
She is surrounded by people who love and support her, and we are incredibly proud of the little girl she has become.
Our experience with Mollie is also why Tiny Tickers has remained so close to my heart all these years. It makes it particularly special that, nine years on, we now have the opportunity to support Tiny Tickers through Molèmi Gives Back and hopefully help other babies and families beginning their own heart journeys.
Mollie is, and always will be, at the heart of why this partnership means so much to us.
Find out more about VSD here.
You must be logged in to post a comment.