A premature baby has beaten the odds to survive after her lungs collapsed from crying too hard
A baby has beaten the odds to survive after both her lungs collapsed from crying too hard.
Little Robyn Theaker is now back at home with her family, after spending 11 days in intensive care following her birth five weeks early.
Robyn was born by emergency caesarean on 17 March weighing 5lb 5oz after her mother suffered heavy bleeding at 35 weeks into the pregnancy.
However, the newborn’s condition took a drastic downturn just hours after her birth when x-rays revealed a small hole in both her lungs.
Her mother Kylie, 32, from Heworth, York, said doctors explained because Robyn was born early her lungs weren’t flexible, so her crying and screaming allowed too much air to get inside too fast.
This resulted in both of her organs collapsing and the newborn having to fight for her life.
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Using needles which went through baby Robyn’s side and into her lungs, doctors inserted chest drains to help her breathe, which Kylie said was “really upsetting to see”.
The tubes enabled Robyn to breathe during her 11 days on intensive care, where it was "touch and go" whether the little one would survive.
"Those 11 days alone felt like 11 months,” explains Kylie.
The coronavirus pandemic and the resultant safety measures impacted the difficulty of having a new baby in intensive care.
“I was really lonely. Normally you would have family to help you through but it was just me and Robyn,” she continues.
“My worry for her was completely consuming, there was nothing else on my mind at all
“All I could do was be there for her, she must have been in so much pain.”
Thankfully, Robyn began showing signs of improvement which meant the chest drains could be removed and she was eventually able to breathe unassisted.
After a brave battle, on 29 March, Robyn was able to leave the hospital, something her mother says doctors “could not believe”.
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The mother and daughter duo are now safely back at home with dad Craig, big brother Davey, eight, and sister Lucy, three.
“As soon as we walked through the door everyone forgot about me and just crowded around the baby,” Kylie says of the family reunion.
“The kids are obsessed with her. She is such an amazing little baby so I’m not surprised.”
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The family are now settling into life at home with the newborn.
“We feel so lucky to have a healthy happy baby - she’s a miracle,” Kylie says.
“There was a time when we didn't know if Robyn was going to survive, I was absolutely distraught.
“I asked the nurses directly if my baby was going to die and they simply did not know.
“I was sat at her bedside hour after hour, I refused to leave because I was so scared she would be worse when I came back.”
Robyn's journey is even more poignant for Kylie and Craig, an insurance company administrator, because in 2015 they lost baby Josie just one hour after she was born 24 weeks prematurely.
And while the family are thrilled to be at home with their newborn, unsurprisingly the tragic events of the previous few years have taken their toll.
“Everything that happened in 2015 added to what happened with Robyn has left me feeling some anxiety,” Kylie explains.
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The spread of coronavirus has also added to the family’s concerns.
“The first few weeks out of hospital I couldn't enjoy her, I would just look at her waiting for something to go wrong.
But as things start to return to normal, Kylie is excited for the future.
“Robyn had such a tough start to life but luckily she has made a full recovery, she's healthy and happy.
“We feel very lucky.”
Additional reporting SWNS.
