Fighter mom, fighter babies

Finding out she was pregnant

Wilene found out she was pregnant early in 2008. After suffering two miscarriages in two years, Wilene and her husband Philip were ecstatic that their third attempt had finally been successful. “I already had an 11-year old daughter from my first marriage,” Wilene explained. “Carla was born at 32 weeks. Right from the start of this pregnancy I was worried that I would go into preterm labour. I had developed a close relationship with my gynaecologist and from the outset he was as concerned as I was about a premature birth. Even though I loved being pregnant, my two miscarriages and the trepidation of an early delivery made it stressful.”

“… I was starting to feel relaxed for the first time”

Discovery Health Medical Scheme members receive weekly updates of their pregnancies.  Wilene said, “I read these snippets religiously. I was so relieved when I read the 25-week email that clarified the baby’s chance of survival was a possibility. I went for a scan and all looked well. We were getting excited and booked the 3D scan. I also went to my gynae for all the tests. He gave me the all clear and I was starting to feel relaxed for the first time.”

But at just over 24 weeks, Wilene started experiencing pain. “I attributed this to getting bigger as the baby was growing.” With the pain getting worse, Wilene decided to go to the emergency unit at Durbanville Medi-Clinic. “At the hospital, the doctor on duty did some basic tests but did not want to ‘fiddle’. He asked for my gynae’s number and that was the first time I started to get worried,” explained Wilene.

Naudé Collins was born at 24 weeks and five days, weighing only 840 grams

Wilene drove herself to Panorama Medi-Clinic where her doctor was on duty. On arrival, the questions from the sister started making her anxious. They were closely monitored and Wilene felt relief to hear her baby’s heartbeat. At this stage she still thought that she would go home soon.

At around midnight, her doctor phoned Philip and told him to come to the hospital. Wilene’s doctor told her that he could at best try and postpone the birth by a week. She was given the relevant injections and medicine. “When my doctor arrived at about 7 o’clock the next morning and looked me over, he discovered that I was fully dilated. The considerations were now normal or caesarean section delivery. The baby’s weight, according to the scan, was worryingly low,” said Wilene.

Wilene was rushed into theatre, leaving Philip outside – mainly because they didn’t know what to expect. Wilene said she was at peace and unnaturally calm during this time. She never, from the time she went into labour until her baby was taken out, doubted that he would make it. After an hour in theatre Naudé Collins was born by caesarean section at only 25 weeks, weighing only 840 grams and was 34 cm long. Wilene said, “He looked almost transparent.”

The hours, days and months that followed

“The first 24 hours were critical, then 48 hours, then 72 hours; the reality is that there were no guarantees,” said Wilene. Every little thing was a milestone. Naudé progressed through different machines and sometimes had drawbacks and then improved again: from the oscillator to the ventilator – c-pap to nasal cannula.

Wilene remembers that she could not touch, stroke or hold her baby; his skin was too sensitive. The only thing she could do for him was to supply breast milk. “Philip was reluctant to give Naudé his name; he was afraid during those first few critical hours that Baby Collins would perhaps not make it. I was impatient with this but gave him time to make peace with the idea and after a week, Baby Collins became Naudé Collins – a strong name for a fighter baby.”

This is also when Wilene was discharged from hospital. She drove the same road and listened to the same CD that was playing in the car on the night she went to hospital. She remembers that, “Everything suddenly became so overwhelming – I had put on a brave face and was on some weird high in the hospital, which worried my friends and family. I felt a strange sense of relief when I broke down in tears.”

Wilene said, “Our paediatrician was instrumental in shifting our mindset. He insisted that Naudé was an individual and could not be compared with others. Even though we wanted hope and answers, nobody could provide us with anything concrete so we regarded each day with our son as a gift and lived from day to day. I have only recently come to understand why they didn’t want to give us false hope – they knew as little as we did.”

Overcoming many obstacles, Naudé was discharged from hospital after three months and ten days; on his expected due date: 30 August 2008. He weighed 1.9 kg. After so many months of uncertainty Wilene and Phillip could finally welcome their son home. Today he is a healthy, happy little boy who brings endless joy to his parents.

Baby number three born at 30 weeks

In April 2011, Wilene experienced de ja vu when, with her third pregnancy, labour pains started at just 20 weeks. Again, medicine was administered to stop labour and Wilene was on bed rest for 10 weeks. “I was allowed to work from my hospital bed, which helped keep me sane!” said Wilene. One morning while setting up her laptop, her water broke and Daniel Collins was born at 30 weeks. After two months in hospital, he was able to go home to complete their family.

“Discovery Health was remarkable through my pregnancies. The hospital bills were exorbitant, but I didn’t have to pay a cent,” Wilene said gratefully. “We realise each and every day what a miracle and blessing our children are.”