I’m all right, but inside I’m all wrong
Samantha’s rare condition means her internal organs are ‘back to front’
Samantha – who as a result is more prone to infections and painful inflammation of the pancreas – says: “I really hope they don’t have it. I have to wear the medical bracelet all the time.
“If I were in an accident and couldn’t speak no one would know what’s wrong with me. If I needed surgery the surgeons could cut me in the wrong place and that could be life-threatening.
“In a normal body all the organs fit like a jigsaw. But with situs invertus they don’t and some become squeezed and that can cause complications.
“I am quite scared when I think about it because it seems that even within the medical world, not a lot of people are aware of this condition.
“I can’t believe I’ve lived all this time without knowing about it. I was a healthy, active kid.
“I played football, rode my bike, had a newspaper round and I did a Duke of Edinburgh Award, which involved walking up hills and helping out with the Beavers youth group.
“My first baby was a textbook delivery. I was only in labour six- and- a- half hours before she was born and I was out and walking around Asda with her the same day.
“I fell pregnant with Harrison when she was two.”
But although that pregnancy was largely good, at 39 weeks, Samantha went into early labour.
She recalls: “I was sitting on the stairs and felt like I wanted to push but something was in the way.
“I had trained Harmony to ph o n e m y m um in an emergency. My mum took Ha rm o n y wh i l e mummy Justine took me to Peterhead Community Hospital.
“The umbilical cord was presenting first and Harrison was suffocating so I was rushed to Ab e r d e e n Ma te r n i t y Hospital by ambulance.”
Samantha was given an emergency caesarean section and warned that Harrison was
I can’t believe I’ve lived all this time without knowing
likely to have been starved of oxygen and might only have 24 hours to live.
The young mum – who doesn’t know if her medical condition was a contributory factor – says: “It was the longest 24 hours of my life. But Harrison pulled through and has been OK ever since.
“Even with the C-section the surgeons did not notice anything wrong with my body at the time. It’s bizarre.
“I went home with Harrison a week after he was delivered and life went back to normal.
“I met Ellie’s dad in 2015 and fell pregnant quite quickly. She was not planned and this time round I was scared.
“I kept getting quite unwell. At 19 weeks I was vomiting and sweating and just couldn’t walk or move anywhere.
“Ellie’s dad insisted we went to A&E in Peterhead. I was sent home after an anti- sickness injection but things just got worse and I was back the next day.
“At that point I was sent to Aberdeen Maternity Hospital where I was put on a drip to tackle dehydration and administer pain killers.
“The next day I was taken for an x- ray, scans and blood tests. The x- ray came back clear, but the blood tests showed I had an infection.
“It was during an ultra sound scan that it was discovered I had situs inversus.
“The doctor wanted to know if I had been aware I had it, but I had to ask what it was. That’s when he told me my organs were back to front and it was a very rare. It was a huge shock.”
Doctors also told Samantha they suspected her gall bladder was the cause of her infection, and it was poisoning her system.
They gave her antibiotics – and a chilling warning.
“They said they might have to take the gall bladder out,” she remembers.
“But they also said they would have to remove the baby first as she probably wouldn’t survive in the womb. At 19 weeks it was unlikely she would survive outside of it.”
It came as a massive relief when the antibiotics brought the infection under control.
However, as a precaution, a caesarean section was planned to take place 39 weeks into the pregnancy and Ellie was born safely.
Samantha says: “It has been an emotional roller coaster.
“But if it hadn’t been for the infection I would probably have never discovered that I have this rare condition. I am very careful with myself now.
“And I am very lucky that I have the suppor t of my wonderful family.”