‘I love you’ were new mum’s first words to sister

‘‘I love you’’ were the first words mouthed by a young mum who suffered a heart attack while visiting her premature baby in hospital.

North Shore resident Kate Meldrum gave birth to daughter Ruby on May 6 after 26 weeks and five days gestation, with Ruby weighing just 530 grams.

While visiting Ruby in Auckland City Hospital’s newborn intensive care unit on May 21, Meldrum started complaining of chest pains, her sister Steph Everest said.

The 29-year-old then suffered a ruptured heart valve and was rushed into emergency openheart surgery.

Everest said her younger sister was still coming out of sedation as she still had a lot of drugs in her system.

But Meldrum had mouthed ‘‘I love you’’ to Everest on Monday morning and again a few hours later while she and Meldrum’s partner Joe Turner visited her.

‘‘I completely lost it,’’ Everest said. ‘‘It was one of the most intense moments of my life, it was like child birth. It was pretty incredible.’’

Everest said the interaction with Meldrum had given her ‘‘a whole bunch of hope’’.

She said doctors still weren’t 100 per cent sure of what was going on in her brain but an MRI yesterday should give them more information.

Everest said Meldrum’s partner Joe was stressed and using all his energy to focus on Meldrum and their daughter Ruby. ‘‘He goes from one ward to the other all day long. We pretty much have to kick him out because he just finds it so hard to leave.’’

Everest said her niece Ruby was stable and growing ‘‘gorgeous’’ blonde hair on her head.

The response to a Givealittle page set up to help the family was significantly more than what had been expected, Everest said.

More than $21,000 had been raised as of 9.30am yesterday.