Evie was the best present her mum and dad could wish for
Little Evie Patterson weighed no more that a Christmas pud when she was born at just 25 weeks.
Mum Lauren and dad Kym, from Townsville, feared their little girl might not reach her first Christmas.
But Evie proved to be a fighter, and the family were over the moon when she came home in time for Santa’s visit.
Just over 25 weeks into a difficult pregnancy , Lauren was awoken by a paramedic banging on her door in the middle of the night.
Test earlier that day had shown her blood pressure was dangerously high, but staff hadn’t managed to get hold of her to tell her to go to hospital.
She was rushed to hospital in an ambulance and the couple were shocked to be told their first child was likely to be born in the next few days.
‘I heard someone say my blood pressure was sky high and I realised we were in serious trouble. I had pre-eclampsia.’
Lauren was given an urgent caesarean and only knew Evie had arrived when she heard her faint cries from the corridor as doctors rushed her to the neonatal intensive care unit.
‘She was the most fragile thing I’ve ever seen,’ Lauren said. ‘Her skin was red and translucent, she was battling for her life.’
It was 10 days before Lauren could give her bub, who weighed just 580g, a cuddle.
‘When she was finally laid on my chest, I felt a massive rush of love. In that moment, the enormity of what had happened hit me. She was really here. It was a magical feeling,’ she said.
Lauren lovingly dressed Evie in tiny doll-sized dresses and hardly left her side during her five month hospital stay.
After a brief trip home in November, Evie finally came home for good on December 16 last year.
Lauren and Kym threw her a welcome home party where she was showered in Christmas gifts.
Lauren said: ‘Last year, she was our Christmas miracle and we can’t wait to spoil her again this year. She’s the best gift I could’ve ever asked for.’
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