Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
The legacy Isla has left is huge and positive.. but it is matched by our pain
Parents channel their heartbreak into helping other kids with brain injuries
breathe. And in time she became alert and engaged but we accepted the results of scans that showed she had suffered widespread brain damage. “She was still our little girl and she was going nowhere. As a nurse I felt able to stand strong in the face of medical advice and trust my own instincts as a mum and our relationship with our baby girl.
“We refused to sign a do not resuscitate agreement and we decided to get ready to take Isla home.
“I did not want her dying in hospital.
“If she was going to die I wanted it to be at home with us.
“We arranged to have her breathing tube removed and started our plans to go home and get settled where it would be done.
“But Isla had other ideas. She removed the tube herself by flicking it from her mouth and the panic set in.
“The nurses flew into our rest room and told us what happened. I lifted her out of her cot so if she died she would be in my arms. But instead of dying, Isla started breathing on her own and she just kept going.
“It was incredible but she could go at any time so we scrambled to try to get her home.
“Instead though we were transferred to the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice which I was furious about initially.
“Then we got to the hospice it was wonderful and the staff were amazing, allowing us to live in each moment and not worrying about what might happen and when Isla might die.
“Isla grew stronger. Davey and I got rest and we finally relaxed and on October 2 we made it home to Bangor. It was during those months since the accident and especially after we got home that I realised how much help we’d had in my parents Gavin and Christine and Davey’s dad Adrian.
“On December 23, with our Christmas tree finally up and Davey out panic-buying presents, Isla was just not herself but had really picked up by the morning of Christmas Eve.
“Her community nurse was calling to see her and everything seemed fine.
“But just as she called Isla started to vomit and we went into full emergency mode. By 3pm we were in an ambulance with lights flashing and sirens blaring.
“It all happened so fast. Isla went into cardiac arrest and with Davey and I right beside her she passed away in Ulster Hospital at 4pm.
“Our precious girl died on Christmas Eve and her funeral was on New Year’s Eve. In a moment Isla had gone and we were all lost.”
If you would like to help Isla’s charity go to www.facebook.com/ groups/islasrainbowofhope/