Baby of Amy – a Christmas message of hope
Baby of Amy (name changed) was born to a mother who had previously had a stillborn child here in Manali. The husband is a tailor here and is basically from another state. The child was born by a Caesarean section and developed severe respiratory distress after birth. An x ray revealed that both lungs had fluid, probably from the baby aspirating fluid inside the mothers womb. The gestational age of the baby was at 36 weeks, the mother not being absolutely sure of her dates and some discrepancy with the ultrasound estimation of the dates. The family was not able to transport the baby to a higher centre. The child was first given oxygen through a special apparatus engineered here in Manali, but then developed a pneumothorax ( a small hole in the lungs) which needed a chest tube. The child went on to need intubation and ventilation. For the first time in the history of Manali a child this small was ventilated with our ventilators, with the able assistance and supervision of pediatrician Dr. Feico, who just happened to be here at the time. If he was not here, we may not have had the guts to ventilate this small baby. Night and day vigils at the baby’s bedside with our doctors and staff in constant attendance eventually bore fruit and the baby stabilized, was gradually taken off the ventilator and was handed over to the beaming parents. The child was discharged last week, a true Christmas baby and a testament to God’s faithfulness in answering our prayers.
This family would truly rejoice as this baby lights up their world just as the world rejoices remembering Christ’s arrival to light up its darkness.
