“If it weren’t for the investment in medical research, neither of our children would be here today,” grateful Western Australian mum Tahnae Hammond said. “I try not to take any moment we have together as a family for granted because I know how close we came to losing both of them.” Tahnae and husband Anthony’s precious children, Ava and Logan, now six and four, both suffered life-threatening complications at birth.
Ava was severely anaemic and not breathing at birth due to an undiagnosed placental tear and needed immediate resuscitation. Parents Tahnae and Anthony were told that she had been ‘bleeding out’ for a long time but that ultrasounds had not picked up the changes in the fluid composition. Ava recovered to become the healthy six-year-old she is today, however, tragically the young parents again found themselves facing another life-threatening birthing experience two years later.
Ava’s baby brother Logan suffered a bleed which saw his brain starved of oxygen and resulted in him being rushed to Fiona Stanley’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to begin lifesaving cooling treatment just as his older sister had. “They put Logan on a cooling mat, which looks like a big air conditioner, and which dropped his body temperature to 32-34°C. We were told it was Logan’s best chance at avoiding permanent brain damage.
” “I was amazed when I learnt the cooling procedure research is led by Consultant Neonatologist Professor Shail Mehta and the team here at Fio.