Emma’s Journey - Page 2
The following night Emma’s heart started to beat very fast and the next morning she was transferred down to Intensive Care “just to be on the safe side”. Neil and I were sent home that night as there was nowhere for us to stay, and the next morning we returned to the hospital with trepidation. Despite reassurances from all the doctors we were both terrified we were going to lose our little girl.
Soon after we got there Emma’s heart rate spiralled out of control and she had two cardiac arrests. A team from Guy’s Hospital came to collect her for transfer to their cardiac unit but could not stabilise her and we were told to say goodbye. As we were doing so our doctor came to talk to us about ECMO, a machine to bypass Emma’s heart and lungs that may give them a chance to recover. We jumped at the opportunity and, despite their fear that she was unlikely to survive the journey, Emma made it to Great Ormond Street and was connected to the machine by two enormous cannulae into her neck.
The next 18 days were relatively stable and we were able to establish a routine. We visited Emma in the hospital early in the morning, and then Neil took Oliver back to the house for his nap while I stayed with Emma. Then I would relieve Neil and get Oliver up and we would all have lunch. After lunch we would take it in turns to visit Emma again while one of us took Oliver to the park. In the evening Neil would bath Oliver while I visited and then I would take over again while he visited. We lived in a totally new reality and it began to feel safe.
During this time Emma was diagnosed with Enterovirus, a normally mild gastric bug that had attacked her heart and caused myocarditis. It was thought that she had probably caught this from me at birth although this was never proved.