Maia's Story
We lost a baby at 20 weeks pregnant due to my waters breaking early . Losing my son was devastating but I was delighted but scared to be expecting again 6 months later . I had to have a cervical stitch as it was suspected I had an incompetent cervix . When my waters broke with Maia at 35 weeks I was delighted as I knew her chances of survival were high and although she was in special care when born we were told she was in great health but just had feeding issues because she was slightly premature . I was becoming worried by day 3 something just didn't seem right and I was in the hospital room when my husband phoned me to come back to the special care unit urgently . This is when I first heard the word NEC . I was told my baby was to be transferred urgently to the sick kids where her case would be reviewed . She was transferred to intensive care while we waited for the ambulance . On arrival we were told Maia had to be taken promptly to theater and it was discussed there might be nothing they could do for her . Those hours were the worst of my life and I sat googling NEC and the picture looked bleak . When the nurse chapped the door and we were updated my baby had survived we were relieved . I fully expected them to tell me she hadn't pulled through. Maia was found to have 2 holes in her bowel and lost her sigmoid colon . She was only in Hospital for 5 weeks which amazed us as she recovered from the op quickly and continued to fight and win the battle with this awful disease . The surgeons recently tried to reverse her stoma which didn't work so well as her bowel leaked because it was just too short to be successful . We are currently waiting for pull through surgery which we hope will work . Other than her colostomy bag Maia is a very happy 1 year old mischievous girl . I am so proud of how she's dealt with everything she's been through . The meaning of the name Maia is brave warrior and I think her name definitely suits her.