Alice Cahalane
(25 weeks)
This is the story of Alice as told by her mother Adele
this fairy photograph was taken at 11 weeks when Alice weighed 4lb 10oz.
Alice was born 5 weeks after I was admitted to hospital at 20 weeks with what everyone assumed was a miscarriage. I spent 2 nights on the Gynecology ward then was transferred to maternity as a scan showed the baby was still alive even though I was still bleeding heavily (and continued to do so for the next 5 weeks). The night before she was born I was told that I could go home the next day for a couple of hours as we have 3 other children and I was desperate to spend time with them other than in my room in hospital .I woke at around 5 that morning aware that something wasn't right,within minutes I had given birth - the midwives were almost as shocked as I was as they ran in on hearing me shouting (or more likely screaming! I don't really remember.) One of them (Sue Hankers) picked Alice up and ran with her to special care as they weren't getting a response from the emergency buzzer - a very brave thing to do when you think how small she was. She had arrived completely enclosed in the membranes which was so lucky, as I had been told that both the baby and I would need drugs during labour due to an infection, but as she came out in her own protective armour she avoided it!! I am so glad that she was born then, because just a few hours later I would have been on my way home and she wouldn't have had a chance. When they eventually came to tell me that she was doing okay, I took some convincing that I had a daughter, after 3 boys I hadn't really thought that I would. (Earlier that night I had jokingly told the nurses that they'd best be prepared for me to go into labour because there was a thunder storm, and my other 3 were all born during or after thunder.)
The first days were obviously very traumatic but she was very strong right from the start, and only needed ventilating for 48 hours. She had several blood transfusions, and a scan showed that she had a slight brain bleed, but it was nothing significant. We had a scare when she was about 6 weeks old when the doctors thought that she had NEC but it turned out to be gastro-enteritis, still not good for such a tiny baby, but she was fine within a few days. One of the worst moments was walking into intensive care one evening to see her covered up,head to toe, with a green surgical gown, apart from one tiny leg poking out of the side. The doctor was trying to insert a new long line (ankle to heart ) as the old one was infected,but until he told me what he was doing 100 possibilities went through my mind. We were looking forward to the day when she came out of her incubator (one of the nurses called her "Alice in her palace") but I had a chest infection and couldn't be there. The wonderful nurses took a photograph for Mike to bring home for me ,and also videoed her 1st non-tube feed.
We finally brought her home after 10 weeks, weighing 4lb 2oz. She had some fairly minor chest problems for the first 18 months or so, which meant a day or two in hospital, she also had a reflux problem for a while, and an umbilical hernia, but has generally been astonishingly healthy. The only legacy she has is the fact that she is still quite small for her age (has just progressed to age 2 clothes but was 3 in september.) Oh, and dozens of tiny white scars on her hands and feet from drips etc, as she was constantly knocking them out and having them re-sited. She is now a very determined little girl, and while I try to tell myself that it was her strong will that got her here, sometimes you just have to admit that a tantrum is still a tantrum, whatever the circumstances!
this photograph of Alice was taken about 6 weeks ago (September, 2001)