Ella
It was Christmas 2002 when we found out we were expecting our 4th child. We have 3 daughters. Jordan is 9 years, Chelsea is 6 years & Tara is 3 years old. The girls were as excited about having a baby in the family as we were. Everything was going very smoothly during this pregnancy. At the time we were living on a Cotton & Wheat farm in a very isolated part of NSW. We lived 4 hours drive from the closest Maternity Hospital & my Obstetrician. I drove the 4-hour trip monthly to see the Obstetrician and drove back home feeling very happy that my doctor said everything was going along very well. I was feeling uncomfortable, but my Obstetrician said, "Your body is probably feeling it because this is your 4th pregnancy". On another occasion after I complained how uncomfortable I was during this pregnancy the doctor said "Maybe you're having a Boy this time". I had the 20-week Ultrasound and was happy to get the report back that said, "No abnormalities detected".
When I was 32 weeks Pregnant I woke one morning having trouble breathing & having niggling pains in my tummy. We lived 1 hours drive into the closest town & Doctor. So my husband Pete drove me in to be assessed at the local Hospital. The nurse there said that I was having an Asthma attack. They put me onto Ventolin Nebules and kept me in for a few hours before sending me home. 2 days later I woke feeling a lot worse. It was very hard to breathe & the pains were starting to feel like Labour pains. Pete drove me back into the local Hospital & the on duty Doctor called Air Ambulance to fly me to the Maternity Hospital. Once we got there I was told that I was in early labour & they gave me some tablets to stop the contractions. I was admitted for 2 days. Then sent home & told to rest up for the next 7 weeks until the baby was due. So Pete & I drove the 4-hour trip home again.
The next morning I woke with contractions again. I phoned the Maternity Hospital & the Doctor there said to go to bed & rest & the pains should stop. The pains did not stop. They got a lot worse. So Pete, the 3 girls & I got in the car & had the most horrible 4-hour trip while I was in Labour. We got to a little town about 60klm away from the Maternity Hospital & the contractions were so bad by then that Pete stopped at the little Hospital in that town. The Doctor on duty there said that I was going to have to deliver the baby there. I said that there was no way I was delivering there as I was booked in for a Caesarean due to the baby being breech. I asked them to give me something for the pain, put me in an ambulance & take me to the Maternity Hospital. Meanwhile the Doctor & Nurses there were discussing the fact that none of them had delivered a baby before. I think the thought of the baby being breech saved me. Because they gave me some Pethidine to take the edge off the pain & put me into an ambulance & drove me to the Maternity Hospital. We got there with 12 minutes to spare until I gave birth (too late to do a Caesarean).
The baby did not cry. The Doctors took our baby straight to the resuscitation trolley. I kept asking, "What's wrong". No one answered. They were busy trying to get the baby to breathe. Finally the Midwife came over and told us that we had a Daughter and that she had some problems. She said that the Pediatrician had been called in to do an assessment of the baby. They took our baby straight to the special care nursery. It was about 20 minutes later when were visited by the Pediatrician. He told us that our baby was an extremely sick little girl. He said that she had some type of Tumour in her stomach. He said that the Newborn Emergency Transport Service (N.E.T.S) had been called to Urgently fly her to Sydney. We were told that she might not survive the flight. The Midwife asked us if we would like to have her Baptised. So sometime between her being born & the N.E.T.S flight arriving we had our daughter Baptised and named her Ella Jane. It was so heartbreaking. Pete and I were both in tears. Everything was happening so quickly. She was not even supposed to be born for another 7 weeks and now the Doctors were telling us she might not survive.
The N.E.T.S flight with their specialist doctors arrived and hooked Ella up to the Life Support System. She had tubes and tape everywhere. Ella and I were flown to Sydney. Pete had a 5-hour drive. At Westmead Hospital in Sydney Ella was admitted into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. A team of Doctors & Specialists assessed Ella. After a few hours of tests the Head Neonatologist saw me. Pete had still not arrived at Westmead Hospital. I was told there was nothing that could be done for Ella. She had a Sacrococcygeal Teratoma Tumour. The Tumour was growing into the space that her lungs should have formed. She would not be able to breathe without the Life Support. The Tumour also attached itself to her Spine & Liver. Ella also had extremely high blood acid levels due to the lack of oxygen her body was receiving. This meant that Ella would have ended up with some degree of brain damage. How badly the Tumour had affected Ella's spine & liver was unknown until further testing. The doctors quietly suggested turning off Ella's Life Support. Pete and I were shattered. How could any mother or father make this decision? Quiet simply.
It was the best thing for Ella. She would not have breathed without the Life Support. There would be no more pain or suffering for our beautiful daughter. Jordan, Chelsea and Tara got to spend some special time with Ella before her Life Support was turned off.
At 4pm on the 23rd June 2002, Ella's Life Support was turned off. Ella was placed in my arms and she died within a few minutes. Pete and I cried and cried. Our beautiful baby had gone to be an Angel in Heaven.
We got to spend the next 8 hours with Ella. We took her back to our room at the Hospital. We bathed her and dressed her in the clothes we brought for her from home. We spent this time cuddling her and telling her how much we loved her and all the things we were never going to get the chance to tell her again.
Ella is and will always be an extremely special part of our family. It is now 16 months since she passed away and it is as hard now as it was when she died. Ella is our Angel. I know that one-day when I have finished what I have to do here on earth, Ella will be waiting for me in Heaven.
Joanne Coster
Ella's Mum.
