On 8th November I was admitted into St George Hospital to be induced as I have had previous blood clotting to the brain and the doctors wanted to make sure I wasnt going to endure alot of pain. The contractions started very lightly at around 3.30am. I spent the night thinking about how the labour was going to happen and the thought of seeing my beautiful baby for the first time made me feel at ease. My contractions were slow so they decided to put me on the drip to make them come more frequent and it wasnt long before I had an Epidural put in. Unfortunately the Epidural slowed the contractions down alot. The doctors decided to increase the flow of the drip to speed things up alittle. I was dialating and things were going well. At about 8 and a half cm they noticed the baby was distressed and were concerned as her heartrate was not beating correctly. A scalp test was done to see from the blood sample taken from the baby, if there was a problem however the machine had broken down. The doctors didnt want to waste any more time so they prepared me for an emergency Caesarian section. I wasnt going to admit it at the time but I was a little nervous and anxious, more concerned for the baby than myself. My husband Leslie was by my side with the video camera ready to tape our babys journey into our world.

It was now the 9th November 2005 the time 10.13pm as our baby come out the doctors uttered the words ” Its a boy oh hang on a minute its a girl :)” and Leslie taped our beautiful Elizabeth being born then cleaned up and monitered by the other doctor Elizabeth’s Weight 4.102 kilos, Height 52cm. The caesarian was all a bit of a blur to me as I was in a daze. However I did see our daughters face for a split second, and all I could hear in the background was its ok, keep breathing little one. I had a feeling that something was wrong. When Elizabeth come out she didnt cry straight away and she was blue and floppy. She was then taken to the special care unit to be monitered. At the time the doctor thought that it was her lungs as she wasnt breathing very well but Dr. Michelle felt it may have been her heart. I still had not held my baby in my arms and when I came back from the op theatre she wasnt there. They told me she was still in special care and they would let me know how she is. It wasnt until my Husband and family went home that a nurse came into my room and asked where is my hubby. I told her that he had gone home and that if there was a problem with Elizabeth to call him at home as he would rush back up here. She tried to reassure me that nothing was wrong but as a mum you know when anything is wrong with your child. We were then told that she may have a heart condition and that Elizabeth would be taken to Sydney Childrens Hospital to have xrays. My Husband and I were speachless, I still had not held my baby and was so distressed. They brought her into the ward for me to see before they took her away, I wasnt able to hold her but just seeing her from a distance made me feel so happy and sad at the same time as I wouldnt see her until the hospital could transfer me. My husband went with Elizabeth and called later on in the morning to inform us that she has whats called Transposition of the Great Arteries(TGA) and she also has Ventricular Septal Defect(VSD) as well as Pulmonary Atresia. These heart conditions are common however its a one in a million chance that you would get all three conditions at once.

We had a meeting with the Surgeon and Cardiologists to discuss Elizabeths conditions. There will be 3 operations to take place, the 1st one was done on the 11th November. This is called the shunt operation and will keep the blood oxygenated as Elizabeth was born without a duct and would die if the operation was’nt done urgently. She was supported by the another duct that eventually dissolves after birth. The 2nd Operation will be performed when Elizabeth is about 6-18months this is called the glenn procedure and the last op at around the age of 5 just before school.

Being given all this information at the time was all confusing, trying to understand all the conditions Elizabeth has. We both wanted to know more but to find out info about all 3 conditions as one was extremely difficult. I guess we are all given situations in life and we are more than capable to deal with them. Sometimes it can be hard to accept but othertimes it makes you appreciate all that you have in life. Elizabeth is a miracle baby and her Guardian Angel Eliza will take care of her for all the days of her life.

To be continued …………………………