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Ella the miracle eskimo baby

It’s every parent’s worst nightmare – Rachael Caxton had been carrying a healthy little girl for nine months and when the time came to bring her into the world – she was stillborn.
 
It was feared that the baby’s brain had been starved of oxygen for too long, but as Doctors fought hard to revive little Ella, a miracle occurred and their little girl’s heart began to beat again. However, Rachael and her partner Jason Anderson were told that Ella would be severely brain damaged if she survived.
 
With no other option, Doctors decided to use a new technique – to induce a state of hypothermia that would hopefully crucially reduce the risk of brain damage.
 
Rachel and Jason, in a desperate bid to keep their daughter alive, agreed to let the Doctors try out this experimental freezing treatment and Ella was transferred from Peterborough District Hospital to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.
 
Ella was placed in a hypothermic state for 72 hours,
 
‘She was wired up to every machine and tube imaginable’ said Jason
 
‘I laid my hand on her head and she was ice cold to the touch.’
 
After the three days of ‘deep freeze’ Ella was warmed up half a degree at a time and eventually, at 11 days old, was taken off the ventilator and allowed to go home.
 
Now nine-month-old Ella is thriving and, although she still needs physiotherapy, is just like any other baby girl. Her proud parents are positive she will continue to amaze them.

Dr Topun, Ella’s consultant Paediatrician at Addenbrooke’s Hospital said:


‘Cooling is now universally seen as the standard of care for all infants who suffer from lack of oxygen at birth, like Ella. It is very important that infants eligible for this cooling treatment are identified early, as the sooner the cooling starts the better.”

The parents of the little ice miracle are hoping that more babies will be
able to benefit from this freezing treatment by backing a campaign to raise £7million for the Rosie maternity hospital in Cambridge.

Ella’s mum Rachel said:
 
‘We still can’t be sure of the future, but she’s our little miracle and every day she gives us new hope.’

A miracle of the truest kind.

By Chelsea Ann McMillan

*Its not baby Ella and mum Rachel in the picture.