Loving George
Aimee Meggitt, 25, from Hull, may never hear her little boy say ‘I love you’...
Rushing home from work, I was desperate to see my little sister, Beth, 22. ‘I’ve got you one,’ she said, handing me a pregnancy test as I headed straight for the bathroom.
Earlier that day, I called her from work after realising my period was a few days late.
I’d also had a weird metal taste in my mouth which my mum, Debbie, 44, said was a sign of pregnancy.
‘I had it when I was pregnant with you,’ she explained.
And after waiting for what felt like a lifetime, the test was finally ready.
Positive…
‘Oh my God,’ Beth squealed. ‘I better ring Jordan,’ I said, completely shocked.
My boyfriend, Jordan, 24, and I had been together for almost two years.
Although we hadn’t planned on having a baby just yet, we were both chuffed to bits.
And as the months went on, we couldn’t wait.
I had the perfect pregnancy, no nasty sickness, or horrible cravings.
I loved being pregnant and we soon found out we were having a little boy.
But by the time my due date rolled around there was still no sign of our little man making an appearance.
‘He must be comfy in there,’ Mum reassured me. But as my due date came and went, I assumed he’d be on his way pretty soon.
Back and forth from the hospital, I was eventually induced and 17 days late, I was taken in for an emergency C-section.
After complications with both of our heart rates, things weren’t looking good, so I told Jordan to wait outside while my mum came into the operating theatre with me.
And after what felt like forever, our little boy George finally arrived into the world.
Thankfully, he seemed absolutely fine.
‘Look at his little moody face,’ Mum beamed, as George’s cries began to fill the room.
Both of us burst into tears, relieved that he was here safe and sound.
Jordan was soon allowed in, and we headed off to the recovery room.
Finally, a little family of three!
But just 12 hours later, Jordan was feeding George whilst I tried to get some sleep.
‘He sounds like he’s struggling with his breathing,’ I worried, mentioning it to one of the midwives when she came to check on us.
‘It’s likely just some mucus on his chest,’ she told us.
‘It should clear soon.’ But as
Jordan continued to feed him, George suddenly seemed to turn blue.
‘What’s happening?!’ I cried. ‘He’s not breathing,’ Jordan panicked, darting out of the room to find help.
Luckily, the consultant was right there and George was soon taken into intensive care.
Doctors believed his trouble breathing was down to milk and mucus on his lungs.
For 13 long days, we watched on as our little boy lay in hospital, slowly getting strong enough for us to be able to take him home.
It was terrifying, but by the time he was discharged, George seemed like any other little newborn.
Relieved the last couple of weeks were behind us, we headed home.
Jordan still lived at home with his mum and dad, while me and George went back to my family home.
We couldn’t afford to move out yet and although it wasn’t ideal, we made it work for the time being.
Only, when George was three months old, I noticed something was up.
‘He’s got a bit of a squint,’ I said to Jordan one afternoon.
‘We’d better get it checked out,’ he replied.
After initially seeing our GP, we were given an appointment at the eye hospital to take a further look.
‘George has a double squint,’
George wasn’t hitting any of the milestones
the specialist explained. ‘He’ll need surgery to fix it.’ It meant his eyes were pointing in different directions and if it wasn’t operated on it could end up affecting his vision as he got older.
With George still only four months old, he’d need to wait a couple of months before it could be done.
But when we finally got round to the pre-op assessment a few months later, there were even more delays.
‘He’s still not sitting up or rolling over,’ I told the doctor.
‘I think George should see the pediatrician before we go any further with the surgery,’ the doctor replied.
That night, I told Mum what the doctor had said.
‘I know George hasn’t hit any of the milestones yet, but I didn’t think it was anything to worry about,’ I confided to her.
‘It might not be, try not to worry,’ she soothed.
But it was hard not to.
I was terrified something else might be wrong.
Eventually, George had an MRI scan but everything came back clear.
Although we were relieved, it was still incredibly frustrating not to have answers. By now,
George was over the age of one and past the point of being able to have the surgery to correct his double squint.
‘If he has it now it will be purely for cosmetic reasons,’ the doctors warned.
But I still wanted George to have it.
We were too late to help his vision but I know how cruel kids can be – I’d already heard nasty comments being made about him on the bus.
‘I don’t want George going through any more of that,’ I told the doctor.
He was put on a list and we began to wait for the surgery.
But as he neared two, there was still no sign of him walking or talking.
‘There must be something else,’ I cried to Jordan.
But doctors still didn’t have clear answers.
Eventually, he was diagnosed with global development delay and hypertonia – a condition that means his arms and legs are floppy and difficult to move.
Although it was some relief to finally have a diagnosis, it still didn’t explain everything. We were so frustrated. George wasn’t like other kids his age, he still wouldn’t sleep through the night, instead napping through the day – a common symptom for kids with hypertonia.
We were still having to sleep whenever he did, even though he was nearing three.
It’s not been easy, but we’ve had some brilliant support around us.
One of my best friends, Jess, is even going through a similar thing herself. Jess, 25 and her partner, Jamie, 27, welcomed their little boy, River not long after we had George.
He was also born 16 days late and has suspected autism, seizures, severe anxiety and global development delay, too.
Like us, they’re still waiting for a full diagnosis on River’s condition.
But, knowing I had Jess to turn to when things got tough really made life easier for me.
Between us both, we decided to set up a support group for parents who are going through a similar situation with their kids.
We created a Facebook group called Jams Journey, for parents with children with disabilities and those who still didn’t have a diagnosis.
It’s been really helpful for us to talk to other parents that are in the same boat as us, and hopefully we’ll be able to start meeting up with them soon.
It can be a very lonely place without support, so I’m keen to make sure there is a place for parents to turn.
I’m just so grateful for the people we’ve had around us.
For now, there’s so much that’s not known about George’s conditions and we don’t know if he’ll ever be able to walk or talk.
He’s still waiting for surgery but we’re not sure when that might be.
Despite it all, George is such a happy little chap.
It’s not been easy, easy but seeing George smile makes us realise that we must be doing something right. Now, I’m pregnant with our second child child. We still don’t know if they will share similar problems to George, but we can’t wait to be able to introduce him to his little brother.
With still so much unknown about our little boy, it can be difficult.
We may never hear him say I love you, but seeing George smile is just enough for us.