A YOUNG mum has told how her newborn boy’s life was saved by a plastic bag – after he was born with his intestines growing outside his body.
Little Noah Lemmon arrived a month early with his organs protruding from out of his abdomen.
He underwent surgery at just a few hours old, with medics at Leicester Royal Infirmary popping him in a plastic bag to keep his exposed organs protected and in place to save his life.
His mum, estate agent Dorinda Vosloo, 22, from Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, said: “It’s been a very tough ordeal for our family but Noah has been a real little fighter and we’re extremely lucky he excelled all odds in every aspect of his recovery”
“He’s now like any other baby, hitting all of his milestones and his tough start to life seems in many ways a lifetime ago. Apart from a little scar and a unique belly button, you wouldn’t know what he has been through.
“He’s my hero.”
She told how her and her partner were delighted when she fell pregnant towards the end of 2018 after six months of trying.
“Luke and I were starting to get a bit worried that nothing was happening,” she said. “We’d been doing everything right, everything doctors’ recommended, so we were concerned.
“So we booked a doctor’s appointment to check everything was okay.
“But on the day of the appointment Luke suggested I take a final pregnancy test and to our utter shock we found out I was expecting.
“I couldn’t believe it, we were both so, so happy.”
Delighted, the pregnancy flowed smoothly.
But at their 12-week scan at city hospital in Peterborough the couple learnt their baby had suspected gastroschisis, a condition they had never heard of before.
This is when the abdominal wall does not form completely so a baby’s intestines develop outside and are open to the air when the child is born.
“I knew something was wrong at the scan,” she explained. “The sonographer kept zooming in on things and going quiet.
“There was a real atmosphere, we both looked at each other and suddenly fear set in”
“The sonographer went out of the room and called someone else in. It was really tense. I burst into tears as I just knew something was wrong.
“A second sonographer came in and explained they could see an abnormality in our babies abdomen. We were taken into a seperate room where consultants sat us down and talked through the possible conditions this defect could be”
A couple of days later the couple had an appointment at the specialist hospital in Leicester where further scans were carried out and the diagnosis of gastroschisis was confirmed.
“It was heartbreaking,” Dorinda said. “You naturally walk into your first scan overwhelmed with excitement and expect things to be perfect and when you learn they aren’t it is extremely hard to come to terms with”
“Naturally we took to the internet to try and learn more about this condition our baby had and what we could expect. As with anything, often what you read online can be extremely daunting so we tried our best to keep an open mind and found hope through other Gastroschisis success stories. Nothing changed during the pregnancy except more frequent scans.”
An induction was planned for 37 weeks but a week before then – a month before her due date – her waters broke.
Luke, 29, a construction plant operator, drove her to Leicester where she was kept in. “My waters broke but I didn’t go into labour. However, because my waters had gone I was at risk of infection so doctors resorted to putting me on an induction drip.”
“I was in labour for over 30 hours. Then, within an hour, I suddenly went from 2cm to 10cm dilated and he flew out.
“Luke recorded the delivery on his GoPro so we could watch Noahs birth together. We knew his birth would be hectic with lots of staff there ready for him, so we wanted to document it all.”
Baby Noah, who weighed 5lb 5oz and arrived on June 28 this year, was taken to intensive care immediately after being born and two hours later went for surgery under local anesthetic.
“We had prepared ourselves for what was going to happen when he was born but nothing can prepare you for seeing your newborn baby taken away in an incubator as soon as he was born. Having to sign consent to surgery, minutes after giving birth, is really tough emotionally” Dorinda said.
“We were all so excited to see him and prayed for the best outcome possible. The surgeons did an amazing job and we were extremely lucky that Noah had all of his intestine put back in two hours after being born”
“Each case of Gastroschisis is different and some can see families spending months in NICU but we were extremely lucky and Noah only stayed in hospital for three weeks before he was strong enough to come home.”
Now he is back at home and has just enjoyed his first Christmas.
“He’s doing really well,” his mum said. “He’s six months old and his first Christmas is definitely one we will all treasure.
“I set up an Instagram page recounting his entire journey from the day he was born because I want to provide hope to other families if they too receive a Gastroschisis diagnosis and fear for the worst like we did”
“Gastroschisis does not define your pregnancy or baby, it only means their start to life was a little harder than most and they are all incredibly strong babies.”
Gastroschisis is a birth defect that is becoming much more common and the cause is still unknown.
Gastroschisisis a rare birth defect that affects an unborn baby’s abdominal wall.”]It occurs when a baby’s abdomen fails to develop properly while they are in the womb.
By around week 11 of most pregnancies a baby’s intestine has developed inside the umblicial cord, and moved inside the abdomen.
But, in baby’s with gastroschisis, the abdominal wall doesn’t form completely so the intestines can develop outside and are open to the air when the child is born.
This increases their risk of life-threatening infections.
Scientists do not know exactly what is to blame for the condition, but it is becoming increasingly more common in young mums.
However, the condition is still considered rare, affecting around one in every 3,000 babies born each year.
“There is a strong, growing community of gastroschisis families in the U.K. and there were meet ups for International Gastroschisis Day which is July 30. Noah was still very young for this years awareness day but next year we want to take part and raise awareness”
Luke is doing a sponsored skydive for Leicester Royal Infirmary in the New Year.
“I’ll never be able to thank both hospitals and all their staff for everything they did but I really want to give something back to everyone who saved our beautiful boy’s life,” he said.
“NICU is an amazing place that deserves to be praised and thanked endlessly. They are miracle workers and provide so much support to parents too.”
Follow Noah’s progress at https://www.instagram.com/little_noahs_world/
Last Christmas we told you about the miracle twins who were born prematurely – but celebrated their first year at home.
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