The kiss of life
Pictured: Kimberley Watson and her Son, who was born with CDH. Kimberley wants to raise awareness of the rare condition, on behalf of the CDH Charity.
THIS is the precious moment Kimberley Watson thought she might never enjoy.
Baby Joshua’s odds of survival when he was born were 50/50 due to a rare life-threatening condition.
And now he is on the road to recovery, the 27-year-old is urging people to sign a petition so more can be found out about the condition.
Kimberley, who lives in Clifton Grove, was told at her 20-week scan that her baby had Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH), which meant he had a hole in his diaphragm.
She was transferred to Birmingham Women’s Hospital and had to have scans every two to four weeks to monitor everything because the baby’s stomach and spleen were in his chest, pushing his heart and stopping his lungs from developing.
The 27-year-old said: “I had never heard of this condition before and was told there was no known cause or risk factor but that it occurs in one in 2,000- 5,000 births.
“My partner Gary and I were terrified.
“I was induced 12 weeks ago in Sheffield Hospital and five days later Joshua had an operation and was on life support for a week.”
Joshua, who has three older sisters, nine-year-old Lauren, six-year-old Ella, and 18-month-old Emily, had a membrane over the hole in his diaphragm which at the moment doctors think reduced the damage to his lungs.
Miss Watson added: “Gary came to Sheffield when the baby was born, but then he had to leave me and Joshua to come back to Kenilworth to look after the girls. He was travelling up and down the country for five weeks.
“It was a very difficult time but my parents, family and friends have been amazing and the support we have had from the charity CDH UK has been invaluable.”
CDH UK has recently launched a campaign requesting Government Funding for research into the cause of CDH. It requires 100,000 signatures by May next year to get this request before the House of Commons.
The mother-of-four said: “The charity has been amazing and as well as giving us the information and support we needed, it also put us in contact with other parents whose babies have CDH.
“I have been speaking to many women who are pregnant at the moment and don’t know whether their baby will survive, but I just tell them about Joshua and try to help them.
“We need to do everything we can now to find out what causes this condition and get more equipment and skills to deal with it, which is why I’m urging everyone to please sign the e-petition.
“Joshua keeps me up all night but I don’t care because he’s a complete miracle.
“He’s only small like a new born and I’ve been told he will always be little, and he will need to be closely monitored and kept on medication for a while.
“The more CDH UK can find out about the condition the better chance more babies will survive.”
To sign the e-petition go online.
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/33898
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Sunday 26 May 2013
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