NHS SAVED OLIVIA – AT SIX DAYS OLD
THE parents of a brave baby girl who needed open heart surgery at just six days old have praised NHS staff for saving her life.
Olivia Wigley was born with a genetic condition called DiGeorge syndrome which can cause a range of lifelong defects, including serious heart problems.
Without an urgent operation to correct her aortic valve, doctors told parents Shane Wigley and Sophie Shanklyn that their daughter would not survive.
So when she was less than a week old, the poorly tot underwent a seven-hour operation at Bristol Children’s Hospital to correct the defect.
And now, as she approaches three months old, Olivia is making incredible progress.
“I think you have to be put in one of the worst situations imaginable to realise just how amazing the NHS really is,” said Shane, a painter and decorator from Penygraig, Rhondda. “Without them we wouldn’t have our amazing daughter with us today.”
Shane said Olivia’s heart defect was picked up during the 20-week scan at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant. “It was devastating. Our world was turned upside down,” Shane added.
“I couldn’t think straight driving home. We just looked at each other and wondered why this was happening to us.”
After spotting the serious heart problem, their care was transferred to specialists at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff.
From then on, they were given scans every fortnight to check on the baby’s progress in the womb.
“There was a plan in place to have the baby at 38 weeks in Bristol, but they sent us home because they didn’t have enough cots,” Shane added.
“When we got back to Penygraig at about 11.40pm, we got changed and went up to bed and Sophie’s waters went – so we jumped straight back into the car and back to Bristol.
“As we were approaching England the bridge was shut, so we had to take a detour around Monmouthshire. You couldn’t make it up.
“I tried to stay as calm as possible for Sophie, particularly when the contractions started getting only a couple of minutes apart.”
After reaching Bristol in time and with Sophie pushing for several hours, doctors spotted that Olivia had turned in the womb and would need to be delivered by forceps. She was born on May 23 weighing a healthy 7lb 3oz.
“The whole thing was stressful and manic, but it was also one of the best feelings in the world,” Shane said.
“They checked her breathing and they allowed us to hold her for five minutes before she was rushed off to the neonatal unit.”
Shane, 23, said he felt like he needed to remain strong for his daughter while she was going through the life-saving procedure.
“You’re in overdrive. You just want to be there with her every second of every minute.”
Thankfully, Olivia made excellent progress and was only in intensive care for two days before she was moved to a high dependency ward for 10 days.
She has now returned to her Rhondda home where she is constantly given cwtches by her doting parents.
“We just want to cherish every moment she’s with us,” Shane said. “I have to take my hat off to the NHS. You hear so much of the bad stuff, but the doctors, nurses and cardiac team were so supportive.
“They put us at ease during one of the darkest times in our lives.”