By Paul Dobbyn
BREMER Valley’s Riley McRae, diagnosed with a fatal blood condition while in-utero, is typical of seriously ill children and babies being helped by Mater Little Miracles Easter Appeal.
Thanks to funding from Mater Little Miracles, more than 2000 premature and seriously ill babies are cared for each year in the Mater Mothers’ Hospital’s Neonatal Critical Care Unit.
Born a week after the 2011 floods, Riley made the news even before birth when his heavily pregnant mother Melissa had to be driven off the family’s flooded property in Lower Mount Walker on a tractor driven by her 12-year-old son Dylan.
At 13 weeks gestation, Riley was diagnosed with the potentially fatal condition, Rhesus iso-immunisation, a condition shared by his four siblings. If left untreated, the condition can cause severe anaemia and death in unborn babies.
Each week throughout her pregnancy, Riley’s mother would make the 120 km round trip to Brisbane so the team at Mater’s Centre for Maternal Foetal Medicine could monitor her baby for signs of anaemia.
At 34 weeks gestation, Riley was born weighing just 2360 grams.
Unable to breathe, he was rushed to Mater’s Neonatal Critical Care Unit where he was placed on a machine to help his respiratory system and given the first of two blood transfusions.
“His little system crashed and it was pretty traumatic to watch; both times we wondered if he could actually survive,” Melissa said.
“The kind of transfusion he required was very high risk—with a chance of death or brain damage—but the risks were greater if we didn’t do it.”
After eight days in NCCU — and his second blood transfusion — Melissa and Rob were able to take their son home.
Riley is now a happy three-year-old with big blue eyes and rosy cheeks.
The Mater Little Miracles Easter appeal runs till Easter Monday on April 21 and includes the sale of Miracle Max merchandise via IGA, Guardian Pharmacy and Bendigo Bank.
For more information or to make a donation visit www.materfoundation.org.au.
