OUR 12-DAY-OLD BABY DIED FROM COLD SORE
THE mother of a child with a rare illness has said she is happy for him to be part of a research programme to help other kids.
Amy Robinson – whose fouryear-old son Alfie suffers with Hirschsprung’s disease, which affects the colon – said she hopes a better insight into his illness will help to treat it better. Amy, from
AT DUBLIN CORONERS COURT YESTERDAY
Greystones, Co Wicklow, said: “I noticed Alfie wasn’t thriving for the first two weeks.
“He was my second child so I was very aware he wasn’t doing the things he should be doing as a baby.
“After two months of meeting with doctors and surgeons in Crumlin I was very upset trying to figure out what was wrong A 12-DAY-OLD baby girl died after contracting the common cold sore virus in hospital after her birth.
Eibhlin Wills acquired the infection in the first five days of her life, an inquest heard yesterday. Blood tests showed no sign of the virus three days after birth but it was present in samples taken after five days.
Dublin coroner Dr Myra Cullinane found the infant died due to a hospital-acquired infection. Dad John Wills said: “For the past three years we have had to live with the unspeakable horror of losing our baby girl to an entirely preventable disease.
“While it has been extremely painful to go through the details again... today’s verdict gives us the opportunity to again warn the public and especially the families of newborns and those caring for them, of the potential danger of the common cold sore virus.”
The coroner recommended the Health Minister include neonatal herpes as a formally notifiable disease and commended the family for raising awareness.
John and Louise Wills from Boden Park, Rathfarnham in Dublin welcomed their first-born into the world on November 19, 2015.
She was born at the National Maternity Hospital where she was cared for until her discharge on November 24.
Mr Wills said: “She was a babbly, amenable baby, goo-ing and gaa-ing and making noises. She was this tiny little person who was incredibly alert for her age.
“We spent those first few days getting used to her. She was feeding well and sleeping well and settled into her little routine.
“The nurse was very happy with her. That weekend Eibhlin seemed to have picked up a cold. She was sniffling a little but she was still feeding.”
By Monday the infant was feeding less and she seemed tired. John and Louise phoned the hospital and were told to bring the baby in if they remained concerned. They called Louise’s mother who arrived at their home at 11.30pm.
“Very suddenly Eibhlin went limp and her colour changed. We drove her straight to Tallaght Hospital,”
Dr Cullinane told the family: “This is such an affecting inquest, you have been very active in raising awareness and have to be commended on what you’ve done.” with him. One of the surgeons I met at an appointment said he may have Hirschsprung’s disease.”
Alfie gets regular washouts to keep his bowels clean.
Amy added: “I think you can be in your own bubble in the hospital and maybe
CONCERNED
She was a babbly, amenable baby, she was this tiny person who was incredibly alert
JOHN WILLS
not so aware the research is going on. We are extremely grateful for the support we received from CMRF Crumlin when we were at the hospital and we really hope we can be part of finding more answers and better treatments by taking part in research programmes.”