When Molly and Jayne woke up on the morning of their fifth wedding anniversary in June 2023, they never expected that within 24 hours, they would be at the IWK.
Molly, pregnant with their first child, hadn’t been feeling well all day. Her blood pressure was slightly higher than normal, and she couldn’t feel their baby moving. Molly and Jayne, both nurses, decided to consult with a colleague who worked in the Labour and Delivery Department at their local hospital in Prince Edward Island.
Their colleague recommended they come in for an assessment and testing. Thankfully, they did. A test showed low amniotic fluid levels (the fluid that surrounds and protects a baby).
Molly needed to have an emergency c-section to help save her baby, who was 10 weeks premature.
Their daughter, Matilda, weighed only one pound 10 ounces when she was born. She wasn’t breathing and needed to be resuscitated and intubated before being taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for further care. Molly, meanwhile, was taken to the recovery room.
Just hours after Matilda was born, her care team discovered she had a rare and serious blood clotting disorder. Matilda needed specialized care to have a fighting chance to survive, so she had to go to the IWK.
Unfortunately, Molly also had to be transferred to the IWK because she had postpartum preeclampsia, a serious blood pressure condition. It can cause stress on the heart and other organs and can cause serious complications.
Because the IWK’s NICU has private rooms for families with a space to sleep and shower, Matilda, Molly, and Jayne could stay together—day and night.
“Being able to stay right in the room with your baby is next level,” shares Jayne. “I think it’s also so important to their recovery.”
While at the IWK, Matilda had a cranial ultrasound (an imaging test for the brain), which determined she had two brain bleeds. She also had an echocardiogram, which showed she had a heart defect. Sadly, her heart and kidneys also began to fail. Matilda was given medications to treat her many health issues and spent 18 days on a ventilator to help her breathe.
Thankfully, Matilda recovered. After a month at the IWK, the family could finally return home to PEI.
Matilda, who will turn two in the summer of 2025, has come a long way despite her many health challenges. She continues to meet all her developmental milestones, for which Molly and Jayne are so grateful.
When asked why Maritimers should support the IWK, Jayne shared a powerful response. “You don’t understand the IWK’s importance until you need it. It’s so important to support the one place in the Maritimes that can provide specialized care for our most precious population.”
