Real Life The picture that means so much
Chelsea Moore was so excited to learn she was having a baby girl, but her joy was short-lived
Like so many mums, I’m guilty of snapping endless pictures of my daughter. I just can’t help myself every time I see Ada’s big beaming grin. She’s only one, and she’s already been through so much, yet she never, ever stops smiling.
My partner, Simon, and I found out we were having a little girl at my 20-week scan, in January 2019. That day, I could feel the excitement bubbling in my stomach as I walked on to the ward with Simon, then 42.
We’d been so looking forward to finding out the sex of the baby, and secretly, I’d been hoping for a daughter, even picking out a name – Ada.
So I was delighted when the sonographer said we were having a little girl, and even more happy to hear that my pregnancy was going exactly as planned.
The only issue was that we were unable to get a clear picture of our baby’s stomach, but the sonographer didn’t seem worried, assuring us that it was just because our girl was at a funny angle.
We booked another scan for a week later, but had the same issue, so we arranged a third, where this time, a doctor noticed I had more amniotic fluid than normal.
Concerned, I was taken for an MRI, but the results didn’t bring any comfort as our consultant explained that Ada’s trachea and
oesophagus weren’t
‘I’D TELL HER TO STAY STRONG’
developing properly. In fact, she had two rare conditions.
The first was oesophageal atresia (OA), a rare birth defect where the oesophagus ends in a pouch and prevents food from reaching the stomach. The second was called tracheoesophageal fistula (TF), which meant the oesophagus and the windpipe were connected.
Doctors warned us that Ada could need surgery, but until she was born, it was hard to say. All we could do was wait. When Ada arrived in May 2019, doctors examined her and agreed they needed to operate.
She was transferred to Sheffield Children’s Hospital and, at just one day old – so tiny and fragile – she had her first operation, but thankfully, it was a huge success.
Doctors had been able to separate her oesophagus from her windpipe and reattach it to her stomach. In theory, everything was now in normal working order, but even so, things weren’t that simple and Ada still couldn’t feed like normal babies.
Instead, she had to have a tube inserted to feed into her bowel, and every four weeks she needed more surgery to remove the scar tissue.
Thankfully, a room from the Sick Children’s Trust was available on the hospital grounds, which meant we could be by Ada’s bedside at all hours of the day.
Every night, I’d tuck her up in her pink blanket, whispering to her to stay strong. Gradually she put on weight and, after four months and 16 operations, we were finally allowed to bring her home.
Now, we have check-ups every three months, as her condition is something that needs monitoring for the rest of her life.
Though she’s not crawling yet, and still has to be tube fed, you’d never know anything was wrong. She’s just a smiley, happy baby, and though she’s faced her fair share of challenges already, I know whatever life throws at her, she’s a fighter.
✱ For more information, visit sickchildrenstrust.org