I burst into tears when doctors gave me two options – let my baby die inside me or risk his death moments after birth
A PREMATURE baby whose heart stopped beating for 17 minutes has beaten the odds to come home after more than three months in hospital.
Bethany Homar, 28, was told there was a high chance her little boy wouldn’t make it when she was rushed for an emergency C-section at 26 weeks and three days.
She had suffered a placental abruption – where the placenta separates from the wall of the uterus before birth – which can be fatal for the baby.
Little Isaiah Gordon was born weighing 1lbs 10z on April 7 this year at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
He had to be resuscitated for 17 minutes before he started breathing and was rushed to the neonatal ward.
Doctors still didn’t think Isaiah would survive and underwent multiple blood transfusions to keep him alive.
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Miraculously, brain scans showed just two little bleeds and no sign of brain damage, and after 112 days in hospital the youngster was able to come home on oxygen.
Bethany, a stay-at-home mum, from Sheffield, south Yorkshire, said: “I was given two choices.
“Let him die inside me while they stopped my bleeding or have him there and then with a high chance that he wouldn’t make it.
“When they told me they had resuscitated him for 17 minutes I couldn’t believe it.
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“They were about to give up and he pulled through.
“He was very sick and needed lots of transfusions, but he battled on. I can’t believe he is now home and OK. He’s a miracle.”
Bethany found out she was expecting her fourth child, and first with her partner, Reuben Gordon, 28, a warehouse packer, in December 2021.
“We were really excited as I already had three children and two were under two,” she said.
Bethany had a smooth pregnancy until she started getting cramps at 26 weeks and noticed blood in her bath.
“My cramps were just like period pains, so I didn’t think much of it,” she said.
“I just thought I’d have a bath to help with the aches but then I noticed blood and started to panic.
“I don’t think it completely set in how serious everything was until I rang the hospital.”
After calling the doctor she was rushed into hospital, where they realised she was suffering with placental abruption.
‘HE’S A MIRACLE’
Bethany was given two options – doctors could stop the bleeding and let her baby pass away inside her or risk a c-section which didn’t have good odds for his survival.
“I broke down crying when they told me my choices,” she said.
“I knew I couldn’t just let him pass away without trying.
“I had to give him a chance.”
So, Bethany was whisked down for an emergency c-section and put under for the birth.
She said: “I didn’t know what had happened when I came round. Then they told me he was very sick, and they were not sure if he would survive.
“He wasn’t born breathing and doctors told me they resuscitated him for 17 minutes and if it had been a few more minutes they would have had to stop.
“He pulled through at the last second.”
Bethany had to wait until he was stabilised to be able to see her newborn son.
“Reuben saw him briefly before he was whisked away,” she said.
“He told me he was tiny, but I didn’t believe him until I saw him.
“He was so small and red with tubes and wires all over.”
Isaiah had a low blood pressure and needed multiple transfusions and had to stay in an incubator to help his breathing.
He was born with a hole in his heart and an open valve – which doctors will continue to monitor as he gets older.
He wasn’t born breathing and doctors told me they resuscitated him for 17 minutes and if it had been a few more minutes they would have had to stop.
Bethany Homar
Slowly his condition improved but doctors warned Bethany and Reuben that he could have brain damage.
“They did brain scans and could only find two brain bleeds which they were really surprised at,” Bethany said.
“It’s incredible really. He’s a miracle.”
After over 100 days in hospital, battling the odds, Isaiah was able to come home in August 2022.
“I was so thankful he could come home as I’d felt so guilty splitting my time between hospital and my kids at home,” Bethany said.
“He has chronic lung disease so he’s on oxygen still at home.
“But it’s very surreal that he’s home. For a while it didn’t seem like there was an end in sight.
“Now he’s 7lbs 13oz and smiling and cooing at us. It’s uncertain how affected he will be until he’s older. But I’m just so glad he’s home.”
Reuben said: “It all happened so quickly after Bethany was taken into hospital.
“I couldn’t go in with her for the C-section, but I got to see Isaiah just after he was born.
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“He was so tiny, but he did a little yawn that gave me a feeling that he would be OK.
“But it was really scary, and he was so poorly for a long time. We’re just glad he’s now home.”