❤️ Valentina’s Story ❤️

So I had been to the hospital for my 28 week appointment at the hospital (I was exactly 28 weeks) and all tests were completely fine, the next morning at 3:30am (17 hours after my appointment) I woke up with a slight dull headache and chest pain with slight nausea, now this normally wouldn’t wake it is was so dull and barely there, I woke up suddenly and felt something was wrong but I couldn’t pin point to what could be wrong. I had severely swollen feet and ankles, the headache, nausea and chest pain for slightly worse so I called the 13HEALTH number to ask if it was worth travelling to my hospital which was an hour away and they advised me that I should get there within the hour.

My fiancé started driving me but after 5 minutes I suddenly got extremely worse and started to feel faint and the need to throw up so we turned around and called an ambulance instead, as I got back home I threw up everywhere. Fast forward to when I got to the hospital, my blood pressure was extremely high to the point I was on the verge of having a seizure and had to do an MET/ emergency call, they told my fiancé what to do and what buttons to press if I was to start seizing (I have never seen so many doctors see me at once, it was very scary). I had been pumped with meds, had blood and urine tests and all came back with extremely high protein in my urine and my liver was failing.

They did an ultrasound on baby and so far she was fine and unharmed but I was told that I wasn’t leaving the hospital without having my baby. I was given the steroid shots, signed all the papers for my c section, removed all jewellery and got dressed into the hospital gown awaiting for either me to have another episode with my health and if baby goes downhill. After a few days of being monitored and daily scans to check on baby, I had another episode with my health on day 4 of being admitted so that means I had another MET/ emergency call and another scan to check on baby, the scan revealed she now has blood flowing in via the cord but also flowing back so she wasn’t getting enough blood, the scan measures her in the 5th percentile and 771g in weight (average weight for 28+4 should be around the 1.1kg mark).

I was given the go head to have my baby. 4 hours of magnesium and pain and anxiety. I had my baby delivered via emergency c section. They cut me normally down below to see if they could get her out that way as I did really want to have a natural birth so I could do a VBAC for next pregnancy but wasn’t allowed to birth naturally due to my health, they couldn’t get her out that way so they decided to do a vertical c section as well and cut me up along my stomach on the inside to get her out (there goes my dream of having a natural birth, after a vertical c section, you cannot have a natural birth again).

My little darling was born on 17th Feb 2019 at 7:04pm weighing only a tiny 850 grams and was only 35.5cm in length. She required CPR so I couldn’t see her but they called my fiancé over to cut her cord once which is amazing. I unfortunately wasn’t able to see her u til the next morning but got some photos of her being born. She is now 7 weeks old and still in NICU on highflow and slowly progressing each day. She has a mild heart condition which the valve to the lungs doesn’t open properly so it can affect her breathing and has been a little hiccup as she has been on cpap then nipiv which is a machine that still uses her cpap but it gives her breaths and opens her lungs so although she was breathing on her own she was breathing with the help of the nipiv which was also breathing for her, it’s a step below being ventilated (tubed).

She has since been on highflow for the last few days and is progressing well!

Miss Valentina Sera-Rose Davey 😍

Written by Anna Lavernier, Valentina’s Mummy and All About Prems member