Amazing tale of little fighter Lily
Little fighter Lily McKenzie was fitted with a pacemaker at just 12-hours-old after doctors discovered she had a blockage in her heart.
It was during her 20-week scan that Sunderland mum Charlotte McKenzie, 26, discovered her unborn daughter had the problem.
At 35 weeks pregnant, Charlotte had to undergo an emergency caesarean to deliver her daughter after a scan showed that Lily’s heart rate had decreased rapidly.
Charlotte was transferred straight to Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary with the surgery scheduled for the next day.
But during the night her baby stopped moving and Charlotte was rushed down for surgery in the early hours of the morning.
Little Lily arrived into the world on June 12, 2019, and was immediately transferred across Newcastle to the Freeman Hospital where she had surgery to be fitted with a pacemaker at just 12-hoursold.
Charlotte said: “When I was told that Lily needed to be born right then and there, I had no idea what to expect.
"I didn’t even know if Lily was going to survive.
"It was so difficult being away from her while she was being prepped for surgery, but my mum was there and she was giving me updates the whole time.”
Charlotte was briefly able to see her baby before she went into surgery and this was when she was told that she had a place to stay at The Sick Children’s Trust’s ‘Home from Home’, Scott House, located just a stone’s throw away from Lily’s hospital bedside.
Charlotte said: "I hadn’t thought about where I was going to stay so it was absolutely amazing when I was told everything had been sorted and we could stay at Scott House.
“We stayed at Scott House for six days until Lily was well enough to be transferred back to our local hospital in Sunderland.”
Since then 19-month-old Lily has come a long way and has grown into an active little girl.
In an effort to thank The Sick Children’s Trust for its support during her ordeal, mum Charlotte is now on a mission to raise funds for the charity by running 62 miles throughout January.
Already her efforts have raised £200 for the charity, which supports families with a seriously-ill child in hospital with a comfortable place to stay close to their bedside.
Charlotte said: “She will need check-ups to monitor her pacemaker, but she is still running all over the place and having a very active childhood.
“I wanted to thank the charity by covering the cost of my stay, as it costs The Sick Children’s Trust £30 to support a family for one night.
"I didn’t know anything about The Sick Children’s Trust, but I wouldn’t have been able to look after Lily without the charity and I want to make sure that other families in a similar situation to me can receive that same support.”
Linsey Borough, Scott House manager, said: “Lily had a difficult start to life, but we are so pleased to have been able to keep Charlotte and her mum close to her hospital bedside as she recovered. It’s wonderful to see her doing so well now.”
To donate visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/charlotte-mckenzie5