Becky Mylchreest says that she and her family will be “forever in debt” to Wirral Women and Children’s Hospital after the care they provided to her little girl, Penny, when she was born. Here is her story….
“Penny was born on time via planned caesarean section after the perfect pregnancy. Penny was given her first check over and everything was great. She was a little sleepy but nothing that was concerning.
“On day two we were getting ready to go home and my husband Andy was bringing the car seat up to collect us. I was with the midwives signing my papers to leave when I noticed Penny had gone stiff and turned a funny blue colour. I asked the midwife to pick her up as I couldn’t move quick enough. She quickly picked her up and slapped her on the back but nothing happened.
The midwife immediately whisked Penny away for help.
Andy arrived at my room and realised it was actually Penny that he’d just walked past in emergency room. Shortly after, she was brought back to us and we were told she’d had mucus stuck in her throat. After calming down and taking a shower, I was drying my hair when Andy rushed her to me as she had gone stiff and blue again.
He frantically ran to get help.
“After a few minutes, some of the neonatal team came to see us and explained that Penelope would need to be taken down to the neonatal unit, a place that I barely knew existed and didn’t want to think about.
Once they had stabilised her, we went to see our baby. The sound of the unit is something that I think stays with you forever. The beeps, the machines, the tubes…. Penny looked like a giant in her incubator compared to the other tiny, premature babies in there.
We spent six and a half weeks in the unit in total, with Penny having up to 30 seizures a day.
“We were transferred to Alder Hey twice for Penny’s EEGs and we had MRI scans done too. The staff at Arrowe Park’s Neonatal Unit were incredible and became like family to us. ‘Pene-lope-ee’, as she’s known by the staff on the unit, was a rare case. All of her tests came back clear so nobody really knew what was causing the seizures. We tested several different medications and although she would initially settle for around 12 hours, the seizures would then kick in again.
“After six long weeks we were struggling, coming to terms with the fact our baby might be disabled as a result of the seizures she had been having. We were given the devastating news that her EEG results were showing some of the worst results possible and the only thing that got us through was the support of family, friends and staff of the unit. When we could not be there, the neonatal nurses would take Penny out for cuddles and comfort her during seizures, which meant the world to us.
“Doctors decided to try one more medication and instantly Penny’s seizures stopped. One morning we came in expecting for her to have had more overnight and were amazed to find out that for the first time in six weeks she’d had a settled night. This then continued until we were able to go home. 8 months later we have found that she has a very rare genetic condition that has mutated itself and in turn has caused epilepsy.
“Penelope has had several seizures since leaving the unit although this is when medication levels are low. She does have developmental delay but is trying to walk and can now use sign language (makaton) to communicate. She is absolutely incredible.
If it was not for the neonatal unit and their quick response I am not sure what the outcome would be for ‘Penelope-ee’. They are literally lifesavers.
