FAME’s Special Care Nursery, It’s One of a Kind
This week we had a special visitor to FAME, little Maria*!
In 2018, 2-year-old Maria was born in a Karatu clinic, six miles from FAME. She was one of three triplets and sadly, the only one to survive. Born at only 30 weeks and after the loss of the other triplets, the doctors at the clinic in Karatu advised her to come to FAME urgently. Maria and her mother arrived at FAME as a last resort to try to save her life.
Mama Maria knew of FAME, having grown up and still living in Karatu; however, she had never been here before. Doing everything she could to save the life of her baby, she looked for a taxi that would bring her and her critically sick daughter to FAME.
Mama Maria had not expected this tragic turn of events. Her first children are twins, who were delivered naturally and are healthy and thriving. When she found out that she was expecting triplets, she was shocked but expected an experience similar to her first one.
Once at FAME, Maria spent 26 days at FAME’s special nursery on oxygen. She was in a critical condition and the mother was losing hope that she could recover.
“I cannot put into words how good the medical care at FAME is. When we came here, I had suffered a huge loss and had completely lost hope that she could be saved. Over those 26 days that Maria was in the special nursery, my mental health took a hit. I was sure that she was going to die just like the others.”
However Mama Maria found lots of support and encouragement from the nurses at FAME.
“The nurses really talked to me and encouraged me. Without them, I would not have survived that terrible time. They became my friends! We celebrated every little progress Maria made, and that slowly started giving me hope.”
After 26 days, Maria was ready to go home and meet her older siblings.
“I recommend that everyone come to FAME when they’re sick. The level of care is very high. I wish I had given birth here, maybe all my babies would have survived!”
*While the patients’ names have been changed to protect privacy, permission was secured to share his photos and stories with FAME supporters, and to raise awareness of available medical care at FAME.