As the air ambulance approached the IWK Health Centre, Lori Delorey had faith that her unborn baby daughter was going to be okay.
Pregnant with her first child, Lori went to her local hospital after experiencing abnormal bleeding. She was then sent to the IWK for emergency care.
Not long after landing, Lori went into labour with her husband and her mom by her side. It was then discovered that she had a divide in her uterus, as a result her baby was only growing on one side.
“I started to hemorrhage,” remembers Lori. “And, then they lost the baby’s heartbeat.”
Lori immediately underwent an emergency C-Section. Her daughter Annaliese was born prematurely at 31.5 weeks gestation weighing 3.5 pounds.
When Lori was finally able to see her baby in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), she was connected to tubes and wires to help her breathe. “All I could think off was how beautiful she looked,” remarked Lori. “While it was a frightening situation, I knew she’d be okay because 26 years ago I too was born in this very NICU.”
While mom and daughter both spent time in the IWK’s NICU there was another similarity to their stories.
When Lori’s mom visited her granddaughter for the first time in the NICU she was shocked. “Annaliese was in the exact same spot that Lori was,” she said. “I said to my daughter, we have come full circle. This is a sign that everything’s going to be okay.”
Annaliese is now back home with her parents. “I grew up always knowing how special the IWK is,” said Lori. “I’ll make sure Annaliese does too.”
