My husband Adam and I had been together for 5 years and had a beautiful daughter Millie (who was 3 at the time) when we decided to try for a second baby to complete our little family.



Finally I fell pregnant after what seemed like forever and we were overjoyed! Millie was so excited to become a big sister and we were so happy to be completing our little family! At the 20 week scan all we could think about was what sex would it be?! When we found out we were having another girl, we were over the moon! We just couldn't wait to meet her. 



The pregnancy was pretty easy going and there were no complications. We were all just counting down to due date...

Due date came and went and finally 10 days later I gave birth to our beautiful little Georgia. She was perfect in every way and we were so in love. She was a good weight at 7lb 14 and had lots of dark hair just like her big sister. 



Once all the usual checks were done we were discharged from hospital and headed home to enjoy our new little bundle of joy. I remember feeling like we were in this little bubble. The four of us were just so happy. And it all seemed so easy. I was a lot more relaxed than I was first time around (I think that comes with experience!?) and we were just enjoying every moment together.



But I soon noticed that Georgia's breathing didn't seem quite right. She was panting now and again and even in her sleep. The midwife came to visit us at home and I raised my concerns but she assured us it was a normal newborn thing, where they are still learning to regulate their breathing. But as the days went on Georgias breathing seemed to worsen. We called for a second midwife to come out to see Georgia on day 4 but she also dismissed our worries and said Georgia was doing just fine. By day 5 she was panting even harder and her head was bobbing up and down with it. I was reluctant to call for help again after my worries had been dismissed on 2 seperste occasions but I couldn't settle with Georgia struggling so much so I decided to make a final call to the midwife helpline. They advised that we ring for an ambulance and were eventually taken into hospital.

I handed my baby over to the Drs who said they would do a few tests to see if they could find out why Georgia was struggling to breathe. They laid her on the hospital bed and did a heel prick for a set of bloods and at this point I was starting to panic. But I kept telling myself "I'm sure its nothing serious, probably a chest infection or something like that."

A nurse came back with the blood results and the Dr looked alarmed. She immediately ordered for them to be repeated. And suddenly my stomach sank and there was a lump creeping up into my throat. The second lot of bloods came back and that's when it all started... There were people shouting out orders and others running over to the bed. Alarms were going off and there seemed to be tubes and wires and syringes coming out from everywhere. I watched on in complete shock not able to move or speak. It was as if my insides had been ripped from my body. A consultant took my hand and led me away from the commotion and out to the 'quiet room'. She asked that I take a seat. I noticed the the look on her face. I couldn't sit. I shouted "What is it? Just tell me! Just tell me!" 

The consultant said that my baby was seriously ill. That her condition was critical. That they were doing everything they could to stabilise her but the next few hours were touch and go. She said that Georgia needed specialist care and they were trying desperately to get her transferred out to another hospital.

After 11 long agonising hours in resuss, Georgia was finally transferred out to Glenfield Hospital in Leicester. They rushed her straight into intensive care and within an hour I was given the diagnosis. Georgia had Critical Aortic Stenosis - a type of Congenital Heart Disease (CHD). The consultant explained how Georgias aortic valve was so narrow that it prevented the blood from circulating around her body and as a result, all of her organs had started to shut down. She said they could operate on her heart to try and increase the size of the valve but not yet. Georgia's condition was still critical and they needed to stabilise her and for her to get better before they could perform any open heart surgery. The consultant warned there could be chance of brain damage from the lack of oxygenated blood to the brain and there was also risk of Georgia losing her right leg as a result of an emergency IO needle (a needle inserted into the bone).

I couldn't take it all in. I just wailed. And wailed and wailed. My whole body was shaking. I felt sick. My head was throbbing so hard. My eyes were stinging and my throat was sore. I just wanted to go to sleep and to then wake up and for it all to be a bad dream. This couldn't be happening to me. This couldn't be happening to Georgia, our perfect little baby girl. They asked if I wanted to go in and see her. I remember walking through the doors of the intensive care unit and seeing this tiny little thing laying lifeless under a heat lamp, hooked up with tubes and wires. There were machines and pumps and monitors surrounding her cot. I barely recognised her. How did this happen to my little Georgia?? My legs felt like jelly and my stomach just churned. I remember feeling the nurses hand on my back as she tried to gently push me towards the incubator.  But I didn't want to go. I didn't want to look. I didn't want this to be real. I just couldn't bare it. One of the Drs said he needed to take my blood for a cross match if needed. I remember just handing him my arm. I was so numb inside that he could have pierced my skin a hundred times and I still wouldn't have flinched. 

Georgia spent 3 months at Glenfield Hospital, undergoing major open heart surgery and after spending the initial 6 weeks in intensive care she was finally stable enough to move onto the childrens ward.

Georgia is now a happy, thriving 3 year old, who brings us so much happiness and joy. She is a cheeky little character, full of life and we are so proud of how far she has come. She remains on daily medication to help the function of her heart and she will need furthery surgery in the future but she has beaten all the odds so far!


So please donate whatever you can, so Heart Link can continue to support other babies and their families affected by CHD.