Can you help Leighton Buzzard family whose daughter spent first seven months of her life in hospital?
A fundraising page has been set up to help a Leighton Buzzard family whose daughter spent the first seven months of her life in hospital.
Evie-Mhairi Clews was born in February 2024 at just 24 weeks and four days gestation – more than three and a half months earlier than expected.
She weighed less than a bag of sugar (one pound and nine ounces) and spent the first 209 days of her life in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and paediatrics ward, including several visits to Great Ormond Street Hospital for vital procedures.
Evie-Mhairi came home in September 2024 and now at 21 months old, 17 months corrected, she still requires oxygen at night.
Her mum Briony told the LBO the family’s lives had changed after the initial shock of the diagnosis for their first child.
"When we were told that Evie-Mhairi was going to be premature, we were in complete shock, because up until that point the pregnancy had gone well," Bryony said.
"It was a real whirlwind of emotions, and we had to let the doctors do what they needed to do.
"It was only after the first surgery we felt we could be hands-on parents.
"We have to be very careful where we take Evie-Mhairi, for example she can’t start nursery."
Briony is Evie-Mhairi’s full-time carer and has stopped working to fulfil this role, while her partner Marcus works as a self-employed electrician, taking time off when needed to be alongside Evie-Mhairi.
The family, who live on Clarence Road in the town, recently welcomed Marnie into the family, who is now seven months old.
Evie-Mhairi is due to begin laryngotracheal reconstruction surgery on Wednesday, October 29, a procedure to rebuild her upper airway.
The surgery is taking place after Evie-Mhairi was diagnosed with laryngomalacia when she was much smaller, a condition where the soft tissue of the voicebox collapses inwards during inhalation, partially blocking the airway.
After the surgery is completed, she will be put into intensive care and placed into an induced coma, which should allow her new airways to heal.
Bryony said she was extremely grateful for the donations to the GoFundMe page set up to support the family, which now sit at £1,789.
Bryony explained: "It was set up by my mum’s best friend, and we did not realise until after it had been started. We are shocked at how much it has raised, and are extremely grateful to everyone who has donated."
The page has been set up with an initial fundraising target of £2,200.