EK couple welcome home their ‘little miracle’

Jul 21 2010 by Shona Mitchell, East Kilbride News

SAFE in her doting mum’s arms, baby Eva is a St Leonards couples ‘little miracle’.

Kimberley Younger, 29, gave birth to Eva on May 19, four weeks early, only to find out the next day the tiny tot had a rare congenital heart defect and would need risky surgery if she were to have any chance of survival.

Eva had been diagnosed with Truncus Arteriosus which means the two main blood vessels in the heart did not separate, causing a hole on the heart and the oxygenated and deoxygenated blood to mix throughout the body.

Still just hours old, baby Eva was transferred to Yorkhill Children’s Hospital where she was monitored before undergoing high-risk open-heart surgery lasting eight hours, when she was just less than four weeks old.

Although the operation has a 90 per cent survival rate, there were serious risks Eva would suffer permanent damage as a result.

Doctors told Kimberley and her partner James Crainie, 38, who is originally from Croy, to prepare for their baby daughter spending up to several months recovering in hospital after the surgery.

However, their little miracle was allowed home just 11 days later.

Proud mum Kimberley told the News: “Eva came through her surgery well but had a dip on the first night in intensive care when her heart function became poor.

“However, she managed to sort herself out with help from various drugs and went on to spend a week in intensive care recovering. She then went to high dependency for 24 hours before spending four days on the cardiac ward. The staff in each of the wards were fantastic and we cannot praise them enough for their care of Eva and of us.

“Ronald McDonald House, which provides free accomodation for parents of children in intensive care, was also invaluable to us.

“We finally got Eva home on June 25 with her having made a remarkable recovery. She is now eight-weeks-old and doing very well.”

Kimberley added: “Eva is our little miracle baby and I can’t thank everyone who supported us enough.

“We received cards, gifts and good wishes from so many people, including many we didn’t know and it really helped us get through it.

“Both our families have been great too by being there for us and also doing everything from our washings while I was living in Yorkhill with Eva to finishing unpacking boxes in our new home we moved into just days before she was born.

“I’d also like to say thanks to the staff at Yorkhill who were amazing and I think it’s important people know how great the work they do is.

“Eva's story has reached and touched so many people and we received so much support during a very hard time.

“After we named Eva we found out that her name means ‘life’ in Hebrew which we took as a positive sign. My sister nicknamed her Eva Belle due to her middle name which together means 'beautiful breath of life' which she certainly lives up to.”

Eva has now been enjoying life at home for three weeks during which time she has began feeding without a tube and has put on weight. And while she may need another operation in the future to replace a conduit fitted to her heart, early indications are she should have an excellent future.