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Eoghan was the most precious gift of her life
By
Stevie Gallacher
DECEMBER 25 is an extra-special day for the McBride family, from Glasgow. Apart from the joy of Christmas, they will be celebrating the first birthday of baby boy Eoghan.
 But what makes it even more special is that Eoghan is lucky to be here at all — and it’s all thanks to the doctors and nurses at the Sick Children’s Hospital at Yorkhill in Glasgow.
Eoghan (pronounced Owen) was due to be born on February 16 this year, but instead arrived eight weeks early.
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 Anne with Eoghan, who is now a happy and healthy one-year-old.
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He’s the first son for Anne and John, who have two daughters Niamh (8) and Caoimhe (5).
Anne explained, “I’m diabetic so
I had to keep a close eye on my blood sugar levels throughout my pregnancy.
Eyesight
“It’s caused problems with my eyesight and nervous system, so I have to be careful, especially
during pregnancy.
“But I’d already had Niamh and Caoimhe so I had an idea of what to expect. They were both born after emergency Caesarean sections.
“During the pregnancy I had several checks at the clinic to ensure things were fine.
“I went in for more checks on December 20, but after they did the tests the doctor recommended I go to the Princess Royal Maternity Hospital — perhaps for one day, or maybe overnight to keep an eye on things.
“Needless to say, I didn’t get back out until after Eoghan was born!
“I tried to get out on Christmas Eve because we have the two girls and I was determined to be home so they could enjoy Christmas, but the doctors wouldn’t let me.
“It got to Christmas Day and the doctor said they had to deliver Eoghan by emergency Caesarean immediately.”
But there were complications with Anne’s labour.
She added, “Everything was so swollen the midwife couldn’t find a vein to administer drugs, so they eventually had to go in through
the jugular.”
Special care
So baby Eoghan made his appearance late on Christmas Day, weighing only 3lbs
8oz.
Anne said, “He was taken into special care and put onto CPAP. That’s Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, delivered through the incubator, and that helped keep Eoghan’s lungs inflated.
“But I didn’t get to see him until the next day when I came round.”
Although he was doing well, Eoghan’s premature birth had caused problems.
“We were really worried because he was so wee and arrived so early.”
But on Hogmanay doctors discovered another problem.
He was suffering from a very rare condition in his tummy where his bowel was connected to his belly-button.
Anne said, “We were worried for a few days because it’s so rare.”
The sick baby was quickly whisked off to Yorkhill Sick Children’s Hospital for surgery.
What should have been a joyful time for mum and dad became a
nerve-racking wait to hear if their son was going to be all right.
After reassurances from the medical team, Anne and John were told Eoghan’s procedure had been a success.
Skilled surgeons altered or removed parts of his bowel, fixing the problem and ensuring the tiny
baby would be healthy.
“He had the operation on New Year’s Day and we were overjoyed when we were told it was a success. It was all thanks to the staff who were absolutely brilliant.”
Full recovery
Eoghan made a full recovery and went home with his happy parents after six weeks. Since then he’s been going from strength to strength.
To show their gratitude, Anne and her mum Eileen have sent in
£250 to the Sick Children’s Appeal after reading about the campaign
in The Sunday Post.
“The staff at Yorkhill do such a fantastic job and we want to say thanks,” said Eileen.
“This appeal has highlighted a lot of the good work they’ve done recently and my first grandson is a part of that.”
And even though Christmas Day is Eoghan’s birthday, Anne threw a small birthday bash on December 1.
She said, “We didn’t want his birthday being swallowed up by the rest of the Christmas celebrations so we had a wee party a couple of weeks ago so he could have a special day.”
This Christmas, the one-year-old will be getting some toys from his favourite television show,
Teletubbies.
And his family will be enjoying the most precious gift of all — a healthy baby Eoghan!
IF YOU have a
special reason for contributing to or raising funds for our appeal
then we’d like to hear from you.
It could be that
you’d like to thank caring staff for the treatment they’ve
provided in your hour of need. Or perhaps a relative spent time in
one of Scotland’s children’s hospitals and the experience has
left a lasting impression on your family’s life.
Whatever the reason,
please let us know.
We’d be delighted
to share your experiences with our readers. And, who knows,
it may inspire others to follow in your fund-raising footsteps.
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You can e-mail us at:
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