Our Stories
Jia Damon Hard
At my 20 week scan I found out I had an incompetent cervix. By the time I got to the hospital and had a few scans and examinations they found I was 2cm dilated with amniotic membranes protruding.
The head of fetal medicine told me he would attempt a cerclage (stitching of the cervix) however he said there was only a small chance he could do it. Luckily the surgery was successful and I was sent home on bed rest and with so much hope that my pregnancy would continue very close to full term.
At 23 weeks my waters broke suddenly and we rushed to the hospital. It was my first pregnancy and didn’t know what contractions felt like and realised when I got to the maternity ward that I was experiencing them. They gave me Panadol to help ease them off which helped somewhat. I then started bleeding heavily and was rushed to the birthing suite where they found my stitch had torn my cervix and they had to remove it.
They commenced me on steroids to help my son’s lung development, magnesium to help his brain and IV antibiotics to prevent infection. I continued getting contractions however they eased up a lot with regular codeine and Panadol. I was doing well and they were about to take me back to the maternity ward when my contractions came on again stronger than ever. I also started to show signs of an infection. The obstetrician, not thinking I was in active labour finally came down to examine me and we all thought I would only be a few more cms dilated. I was fully dilated and they told me I had to start pushing.
I gave birth to my beautiful baby boy Jia on Monday 5th February 2024 at 0353am. He was 23 weeks old+ 2 days gestation and only 550grams. The neonatal doctors worked on him for some time and during that time Jia managed to let out a cry and take some breaths on his own. That was the first and only time I’d get to hear my son cry.
After Jia was born they found he had a pneumothorax (air outside the lung; straight after birth he required surgery to insert a chest drain for this and my partner had to stay and watch it all happen), he had a small brain bleed and he had an E Coli infection (we found out that I developed an intrauterine infection right before birth which transferred to Jia).
The infection alone caused other issues such as high blood sugars, low blood pressure and a skin fungal infection. On top of this we found that his oxygen levels would drop whenever he was handled, so all cares had to be done incredibly slow. After a few days and what seemed to be an infinite number of tubes, cannulas, scans and medications, Jia was stable in the NICU.
My partner and I were filled with so much joy and hope that our son was fighting so hard and defying all odds. Our little stubborn fighter we called him.
On the night of Saturday 17th February we received a phone call from Jia’s treating doctor saying we needed to come in as Jia was not doing well. We came in to hear that our son had gone into septic shock and his kidneys and gastrointestinal system were shutting down. They were trying everything to treat him however he was not responding well to any of it.
After speaking to the doctors and nurses and spending time watching our son in severe pain and suffering from constant seizures we decided we needed to let him go. My partner and I took it in turns to hold him for a while before we decided it was time.
We decided we wanted him to have the opportunity to be outside and breathe the fresh air. The beautiful team of nurses and doctors worked together to transport Jia to a secluded outside balcony. They then removed all his tubing aside from the line giving him Morphine so he could remain comfortable.
They laid him on my partners chest and he breathed on his own for about 20 minutes before he passed. He was able to pass away feeling the sun on his back, hearing the birds chirping and breathing the fresh air.
Jia we will love and miss your always.
Tegan & Daniel, Jia's parents xx
