After a healthy pregnancy and uncomplicated birth, Claire and Kyle welcomed their much-longed-for child, Marigold, in the spring of 2024. But within minutes of being born, Marigold struggled to breathe and needed to be urgently rushed to the IWK’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for emergency care.
Marigold’s care team determined that she had chylothorax, a very rare and life-threatening condition. It occurs when a hole or gap forms in the lymphatic system. As a consequence, chyle (lymphatic fluid) collects in the chest cavity, putting pressure on key organs. In Marigold’s case, this fluid buildup pushed her heart into the wrong side of her chest and collapsed her left lung. She was intubated, and a chest tube was inserted immediately.
While chylothorax is often linked to genetic abnormalities, Marigold’s genetic testing, four weeks later, was clear. Her chylothorax was deemed to be idiopathic. With no identifiable cause and no surgical option to treat Marigold’s condition, her care team needed to address the critical symptoms of the condition, keep her stable, manage her breathing, and gradually reduce the fluid output, along with the complications that can arise with having a chest tube, such as infection, blockage, and bleeding.
While Marigold was receiving care, Claire and Kyle would spend hours daily having skin-to-skin contact with her. Having skin-to-skin contact with a newborn can help stabilize a baby’s heart rate, improve their breathing, support healthy sleep, and facilitate parents' bonding with their baby.
“All of the nurses and care team shared so much wisdom with us about the importance of skin-to-skin,” shares Claire. “After rounds in the morning, the whole team would come, and they would put Marigold in my arms. I’d sit there for hours, and I would read to her, and snuggle with her and talk to her.”
Fortunately, after six weeks, Marigold was finally able to go home with her proud and loving parents. After “challenging” the condition at home with the support of the IWK pediatric team, finally, at the end of July 2024, Marigold’s chylothorax was officially deemed to be resolved. With an estimated 50% mortality rate for chylothorax, it was a miracle that Marigold had healed herself.
“I strongly believe that because of the care the IWK gave us and the skin-to-skin we had with her, it allowed her body to heal,” says Claire. “Marigold was an absolute fighter through it all,” adds Kyle.
To express their deep gratitude for the extraordinary care Marigold received at the IWK, Claire and Kyle created The Marigold NICU Endowment Fund, rooted in three powerful truths they shared with Marigold every day in the NICU: she’s safe, resilient, and powerful.
For Claire, the entire NICU experience had a profound impact. “I would not be the woman that I am, the mother that I am, or have the child that I do without the IWK,” she explains.
Marigold, who is now two years old, loves swimming, horses, music class, reading books, playing with her two cats, and exploring the outside world. Claire and Kyle have nicknamed her ‘Marigold the Bold’ because, like Marigolds, she is resilient and powerful, and her future is bright.
