Ellie-Mae Gaukrodger’s Story

Ellie-Mae’s Journey in to the world. 

Ellie-Mae was born on the 2nd of April 2011 at 10.25.  Everything went well with the birth at Hexham Hospital, Ellie-Mae was 6 days late and weighed 6lb 15oz. We both had nice cuddles and Ellie-Mae fed straight away off Karen so everything was OK. I left the hospital and went home in the early hours.

Then at 12 o’clock on the Sunday Karen phoned to tell me she was not well, I rushed to Hexham to find the transport team from the Special Care Baby Unit preparing to take Ellie-Mae to the RVI as she had gone blue a few times and also started having fits. They didn’t know at that point what was the matter with her and just told us to wait at Hexham because they didn’t know if she had a heart problem so they rushed her off to the Freeman Hospital first,  saying they would ring us to tell us which hospital she would be in. They later rang to say her heart was OK and she would be in the Red Area of the Special Care Baby Unit at the RVI.

We arrived there to find her connected up to all the monitors and still having fits and at one point the monitors went to zero and the lines went straight with alarms ringing, but the nurses were there on hand to bring her back around.  That night we spent on the ward, very scared and sad but all the time the staff were there to help and reassure us. Over the next few days they calmed the fits down with drugs, did lots of tests on her brain and took various samples of blood. They told us she might of had a stroke and half her brain might be damaged,  also she could be epileptic,  but in the end they have not really been able to give us an answer only that they think she has had a lack of blood and oxygen to the brain at some point.

We were in The Special Care Baby Unit for 10 days spending 5 days in the Red Area then 4 in the Blue and 1 day in the parents’ flat. All the time we were there we stayed in Crawford House, which we have donated to because they do a fantastic job there.

We would like to thank the nurses, doctors and everyone involved with the Special Care Baby Unit at the RVI. They all do a fantastic job so calm and professional and helped us get through that difficult time.

Yours sincerely

Darren, Karen and Ellie-Mae Gaukrodger