Rachel Norey feared the worst when doctors mentioned the word “hospice” for her newborn baby girl.
Her daughter Matilda was not breathing when she was born by emergency cesarean section seven months ago, ITV News reports.
But a medical team fought to save Matilda’s life, and today she is at home and doing better than expected. The family lives in Harlow in Essex, England.
Seven months ago, Norey said she suffered a placental abruption, a rare complication where her placenta detached from her uterus. The condition put both her and her unborn daughter’s lives at risk.
Doctors quickly performed an emergency C-section and removed Matilda from her womb, according to the report. Matilda was not breathing when she was born, and it took a medical team 22 minutes to help her take her first breath, the report states.
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Deprived of oxygen for so long, doctors said Matilda’s chances of survival were “slim to none.” At one point, Matilda’s parents said the medical team thought she would die and suggested hospice.
It was never needed. Matilda and her doctors fought for her life, and six weeks after she was born, the little girl was well enough to go home with her parents, the report states.
The family said they are so thankful to have their baby girl, and they are grateful to the doctors and nurses who worked so hard to save her life.
“What it used to be was, ‘Why did this happen to us?’” her mother said. “And now it’s more, ‘Why are we so lucky she is doing so well?’ What was so negative and so disastrous for us, now we now feel like the luckiest parents in the world.”
The Noreys said Matilda recently had her 6-month checkup, and her doctor said she is doing much better than expected.
