Hope Davis was what some might call a miracle baby. She was only expected to survive for 12 hours after she was born.
Her mother, Jen, had a rough pregnancy. She had five operations while she was pregnant, each time risking miscarriage.
Jen hadn’t thought anything was wrong until her 20-week scan. Doctors discovered she had fluid in the cavity surrounding her lungs and abdomen.
They diagnosed her with non-immune hydrops fatalis. This is a serious birth defect, which is an abnormal collection of fluid in at least two different fetal organ spaces.
Over the next ten weeks, Jen went through five procedures.
The first three required doctors to insert a needle through Jen’s stomach and amniotic sac to Hope’s back.
The other two required plastic tubes to be inserted to drain the fluid.
“All the procedures Hope underwent in utero were carried out under local anesthetic and were extremely painful. At one point I looked at the screen and saw her flinch as a shunt was insterted into her back.”
She was given 12 hours to live upon birth, but Jen took her home after ten days.
Now, ten years later, she’s still alive.
Her lungs are smaller than they should be. She has severe asthma and frequent chest infections.
“She is literally always smiling, even when she’s poorly, which is pretty often,” says Jen. “Hope has a brilliant outlook on life—everything is wonderful and she finds a positive in every situation.”
Her road is tough, but she’s in shape and she’s ready to live a full life.
“She has to take a lot of medication every day but does it without complaint, taking her condition and poor health in her stride and pushing herself in everything she does.”
After Hope turned eight, Jen and her husband tried for another baby, reassured that it was unlikely Jen would have two babies with the same rare condition.
However, when she got pregnant last year, it was quickly discovered that he had the same condition Hope had—only worse.
Though Jen tried to go through the same procedurs, his case was too severe. He was born premature, and not only had Hope’s condition, but also a condition called Pulmonary Lymphangiectasia. This causes infants to be unable to breathe after birth.
The family is now raising money for the hospital where hope and her deceased brother, Teddy, were born. They do sponsored Tough Mudder races, and have raised $7,000 for the Fetal Medicine Unit at the Liverpool Women’s Hospital.
“Although we didn’t get our happy ending with Teddy, it was fantastic to have the doctors and nurses from the Fetal Medicine Unit in our corner throughout the whole process. We have so much to thank them for.”
