'Our little miracle': Family of Grangemouth girl hope to raise £10k for Edinburgh neonatal unit
When Aurora Devine was born she was so small she could fit in the palm of her mother’s hand.
Weighing only 695 grams, a tiny 1lb 5oz, the odds were stacked against her surviving more than a few days.
As the medical teams warned her loved ones to prepare for the worst, they had overlooked one thing: the strength this little baby was already showing to survive and a mother’s love to will her daughter to live.
After almost 100 days in neonatal care and on Christmas Eve 2016, Aurora finally came home. But that was just the start of a roller-coaster journey for mum Stacey – of trying to avoid infections, watching her precious baby for signs of illness and for the first few months, only leaving the house to attend medical appointments.
As her tenth birthday approaches, Aurora is happy, strong and as her family proudly say, “an inspirational little girl”.
However, her loved ones will never forget all the care she received in the neonatal unit at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and are determined to give something back “to the incredible people who helped her survive”.
Their goal is to raise £10,000 to mark Aurora’s tenth birthday this September.
On the eve of her first birthday, a previous fundraiser held in Edinburgh raised £4444.44 – mum Stacey, 39, said: “We couldn’t believe it when all the money was counted and it was this figure.
"But now we want to add to it and hope to hit the £10,000 mark.”
They’ve planned a fundraising evening in the Rosebank Rooms in Falkirk on Saturday, September 19 starting at 7pm when there will be entertainment, food, raffle and auction.
The family hope that as many people as possible will turn out to support the event and “to celebrate Aurora’s journey, meet the little girl behind the story, and help us give back to the incredible people who helped her survive”.
Stacey admits that from the moment she discovered that she was pregnant back in 2016 there was drama.
“Initially I was told my due date was Hogmanay and my first thought was that there was no way I would be able to get from Lower Granton Road and across the city to the Royal with all the usual celebrations going on. And I certainly didn’t want to give birth in an ambulance.
"Then they said it was to be Christmas Day and later said it was to be December 27.”
However, Aurora had other ideas and in the middle of September Stacey woke one day not feeling right with sick and achy symptoms. She was sent home from work and hoped that it was just a bug she had caught.
"But I woke up at 3am the next morning and was in agony,” she explained. “By 5am I knew that I needed to go to hospital. After looking at me they sent me home but didn’t take into account that I was high-risk as I’d had a pre-term baby ten years earlier. I was home by 9am but an hour later had to go back to hospital.
"The doctor who sent me home looked grey when they saw me back. This was the Tuesday and I was kept in. But on the Friday the doctors came and said ‘we’re really concerned for your health now – we need to get the baby out but we don’t want to sedate you as it would be very traumatic’.
"They said there was a 50/50 chance of survival and I said ‘for the baby’ and they said ‘no, you’.”
Stacey said she then had to make the call to her son Tyler to say goodbye in case she didn’t make it, but of course, couldn’t let him know this may be the last time they spoke.
Thankfully, she did survive but three weeks later doctors told her she had survived life-threatening sepsis of the womb.
Aurora was born by emergency Caesarean section at 12.55am on Saturday, September 17 when Stacey was only 25 weeks into her pregnancy.
"The first 24 hours she seemed fine but we now know that is the honeymoon period and things quickly changed when she became seriously ill,” recalled her mum.
"Those first days were filled with fear, hope and uncertainty. Instead of bringing our baby girl home, we found ourselves in the neonatal unit at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary surrounded by incubators, tubes, wires, breathing machines and medical equipment.
"After 72 hours, the doctors and nurses had done everything they could, and the fight became Aurora’s.
"And she fought.”
During the 98 days she was in hospital, Aurora faced countless challenges including sepsis, necrotising enterocolitis (NEC), a collapsed lung, infections, feeding problems, blood pressure issues, hearing problems and a heart murmur.
Stacey added: “There were many moments when we didn’t know what the future would hold. On my 30th birthday I had to go to the hospital and prepare to say goodbye to my daughter but thankfully she rallied.
"But then a time came in mid-November when it was as if she woke up and started getting better. Then we got her home on Christmas Eve – which was wonderful but at the same time, absolutely terrifying.
"We were home but with oxygen, a special mat for her to sleep on, a heart monitor and she was getting hourly meds.
"When close family came to visit, as she was so susceptible to any infection, they would have to scrub up to their elbows and wear a mask.”
Life was a constant round of hospital appointments and meetings with NHS staff as careful checks were kept on Aurora.
"I think for the first six months I only left the house to go to see the doctor. For the first two years we attended the hospital every week as Aurora was part of a research programme because she was so small.”
Stacey clearly remembers at one stage neonatal doctors wanted to bring Aurora off her ventilator and put her on a hi-flow machine. But they couldn't as there were only three in the unit and all were being used.
"I asked how much they cost and they said £10,000 and that’s why I want to raise that amount so they can buy another one.
"Aurora is my miracle, and I am the proudest mum in the world. But I’m fully aware that it could be very different. There were 12 babies in neonatal when Aurora was admitted … and she is the only one who came home. Yes there were others who came in afterwards and survived but so many didn’t.
"I know if it wasn’t for those amazing doctors and nurses who work round the clock caring for babies like Aurora I would be raising money for Sands and not Simpson Special Care Babies.”
The family now live in Grangemouth and last year Stacey married a friend from her schooldays, Steven Strathie, and she is an SNP councillor representing Bo’ness and Blackness.
Aurora attends Sacred Heart Primary School and loves Harry Potter, as well as football. She not only likes watching her favourites teams – Falkirk, Celtic and Manchester City – but also loves to play, something her family never thought that she would be able to achieve.
Urging people to attend their event, Stacey said: “We want to help other families who find themselves facing the same frightening but hopeful path.
"Aurora’s story shows that even the smallest babies can have the biggest fight.”
Tickets for the fundraiser are available here