My daughter Sophie was born in April 2006. She was diagnosed with gastroschisis at my 12 week scan and the roller coaster began. I find it hard to believe now but we discussed terminating the pregnancy, such was the fear of this condition we had never even heard of.
Sophie was born 7 weeks early. I started having contractions and they tried to delay them for 4 days, finally deciding to go ahead with a C section.
Like any mother, I cannot really convey the emotion of overwhelming love I felt at that moment. But the hard part was just starting.
Sophie was operated on the following day but had complications and proceeded to have 3 more operations over a 4 month stay in hospital. She contracted infection after infection and 3 months after she was born she developed such a serious one that she nearly died. Those 4 days in intesive care were horrific. We saw other babies pass away as we prayed for ours to live. We even had her baptised incase she never made it. She did. Thankyou God. Maybe those daily visits to the hospital chapel and tearful pleadings helped sway him. Whatever the case, I am now in his debt and will always be.
A month after that time in intesive care, Sophie came home from hospital. July 21st 2006. I cried my eyes out with happiness on the journey home and I will always swear that she looked at me with the most loving gaze I have ever seen, I took that as “We made it Mum”.
Sophie is now 20 months old and a bright, happy, mischevious little soul who is our world. She had some diet issues for the first year but these have all been ironed out and she is now a normal toddler with a normal appetite! Her scar is not nice, but this is a very small price to pay for her life.
I do not envy anyone at the start of their journey with gastro and I hope my story does not scare. I just had to be honest about the emotional journey that we had to travel to get where we are. But I tell you today - It was worth every minute to have our daughter in our lives.
Lots of love and best wishes.
Kx
