All hail the miracle baby!

Last weekend was an extremely emotional one. I was greatly honoured to be invited to celebrate a huge milestone, Baby S’s first birthday.

You may wonder why this particular first birthday was such a big deal. Well, I first met this cute little one when he was still inside his mother’s womb. She transferred into my care, halfway through her antenatal period, and we hit it off immediately. Her husband is a colleague in the profession and it was an honour to take care of his family.

There is a reason why I treat women; it is partly because I talk a lot. It helps if I am going to be talking to people who are happy to indulge me! Our antenatal visits were laced with lots of learning about pregnancy, anticipating labour and motherhood thereafter. The also packed plenty of good humour about overzealous mums and aunts, who were flooding her with traditional foods in an effort to feed the unborn grandbaby.

The pregnancy was a breeze, with no complications. One sunny Saturday afternoon, I received a call heralding the arrival of Baby S. I found mum in bed in labour, cracking jokes with family and friends, appearing deceptively calm; it was her way of coping with the demands of labour. Thankfully, Baby S wasn’t one to keep us in suspense, and three hours later, the adorable little prince was here.

He howled well enough, turned all pink under the warmth of the resuscitaire and went on to suck his fingers with vigour as dad, who had nearly missed the birth of his son, watched over him. Everything looked perfect and very soon the young family was on their way home. A week later at mum’s post-natal clinic visit, I had the pleasure of seeing Baby S again. He was a picture of perfection, content to breastfeed and snooze without a care in the world. The young couple were loving parenthood. They deserved it.

However, this lull was short-lived. Four days later, mum called in the early evening hours. She wasn’t able to reach the paediatrician. She noted that baby hadn’t breastfed well that day and a quick check-in with the local clinic confirmed that all was not well. The doctor there wanted to admit the baby, hence the frantic search for their personal paediatrician.

I could hear the confusion in her voice. I asked her to head straight to the emergency room at the hospital where baby was born as I took over the communication with the paediatrician. By midnight, the little one was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). He was dehydrated and in acute kidney failure, which was being attributed to infection and sepsis.

Thankfully their paediatrician is a kidney specialist. He was able to step in and initiate dialysis in a timely manner. Baby’s condition deteriorated so fast; with complication after complication ravaging this little body. He developed widespread blood clots in the blood vessels, including those to the kidney, resulting in elevated blood pressures, which cost him a kidney. He had to be fed through a special tube connected directly to his stomach from the skin for several months even after leaving the hospital.

Yet through all of this, the young parents remained steadfast in their faith that the little one would beat the odds. The endless hours in the NICU, sitting on a couch all day and night, expressing the liquid gold that is breastmilk for the baby to be fed, not only for nutrition but also with the hope of boosting his immunity; is an experience that would have long broken many a weaker person.

Dad juggled between being there for his son, standing with his bereft wife and staying on course at work, in order to provide for his family. I have no idea how someone so young in the realm of adulating was able to pull this off without collapsing in a heap.

It was a rough two months, enough to break anyone. But the trio survived it. I wept tears of joy when mum called to inform me that they had been discharged. Baby S went home, a true miracle indeed. The next time mum sent me photos, Baby S was already six months and was being weaned. He had waved goodbye to the stomach feeding tube, was back to relishing his breastfeeding and was happily consuming whatever purees mum came up with. How did they manage to make it this far? One word, family! The whole clan from both sides of the family stood together for these three in the most heartwarming way. The consistent hospital visits to ensure they were never alone; the financial, moral and psychological support; the prayers and dedications to the Lord above for Baby S’s recovery and the uninterrupted supply of heartwarming food from grandma’s garden were a true testimony of love.

On the other hand, there was an absolutely overwhelming commitment by the team of doctors who stood by the young father as a colleague; unreservedly providing their technical expertise for all those days, at absolutely no cost to the family. Dr David Galgallo, their primary paediatrician and nephrologist, visited Baby S every single day for the entire two months, without fail. He brought together the amazing team of paediatric surgeons, paediatric intensivists, paediatric pulmonologists and paediatric haematologists to keep this amazing little human alive.

The NICU nursing team was out of this world. They not only served Baby S in their professional capacity but also hand-held mum when she was at her lowest; reminding her time and time again just how strong she was through all the madness that threatened to engulf her. The other specialists from physiotherapy, nutrition and counselling psychology disciplines were God-sent.

As we celebrated the special day, I was touched beyond measure to meet an unsung hero in mum’s corner. This was a fellow mum, whose baby was also admitted in the intensive care unit, who looked beyond her own pain to hold a fellow mother close during a very dark period. It was heartwarming to see the two mums come together at a time of sheer joy and thanksgiving, knowing just that the dark tunnel they had walked through together was truly behind them.

In African culture, we believe that babies belong to the community; and the community is all of us! I am greatly honoured to be well reminded of just how true this is by none other than the adorable Baby S!

Dr Bosire is an obstetrician/ gynaecologist