Baby Xavier’s health fight to spend time with Ipswich Mum on Mother’s Day

An Ipswich-area baby has put up an epic fight for survival, battling a serious heart condition and a rare chromosomal disorder, giving his mum the greatest Mother’s Day gift imaginable.

Xavier Fisher is now at home in Goodna with his mum Ashleigh McGlashan. Picture: Renae Droop/RDW Photography.

Battling a severe heart condition and a rare chromosomal disorder, a Goodna baby has waged an extraordinary fight for survival.

Born nine weeks premature and tipping the scales at less than 765g, little battler Xavier spent his first Mother’s Day in the loving embrace of his proud mother, Ashley McGlashan.

“I didn’t think we would make it this far, every day is a milestone,” Ms McGlashan, 25, said.

“Being a mum to a premature baby is stressful but so rewarding as you watch what they can achieve”.

At the 28-week mark of Ms McGlashan’s pregnancy Xavier was diagnosed at a Logan hospital with Tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital heart defect that disrupts the heart’s blood flow.

She was referred to the Mater Centre for Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM), at the Mater Mothers’ Hospital in South Brisbane, for weekly scans to monitor her baby.

Xavier was delivered via an emergency C-section at Mater Mothers’ on November 2.

But problems with his mother’s placenta were detected and a fetal growth restriction was found to be affected him while in the womb.

Just weeks after the birth, Ms McGlashan and her partner Brandon Fisher were confronted with the news that their son also had DiGeorge Syndrome, an incurable chromosomal condition which could cause lifelong health problems.

DiGeorge Syndrome was caused by a defect in Chromosome 22 and affected about one in every 4000 newborns.

Xavier Fisher is now at home in Goodna with his mum Ashleigh McGlashan. Picture: Renae Droop/RDW Photography.

Ms McGlashan said her son’s chromosomal condition had affected his heart, development, general health and learning ability.

Tests were underway to confirm if the condition was genetic.

“Knowing he might not be able to walk or talk properly is heartbreaking,” she said.

“He is our little battler who has beaten all the odds.

“He has suffered hearing loss in his right ear and also has low set ears, which can be a characteristic of those with DiGeorge Syndrome”.

Unsure of what the future held for her “precious baby boy”, Ms McGlashan said she felt so lucky to hold Xavier in her arms on Mother’s Day.

“I remember the moment he had to be resuscitated soon after birth. I thought we would have to say goodbye in the first 24 to 48 hours,” Ms McGlashan said.

“From the time Xavier was born, we have taken things just one day at a time.

“He’s got a long journey ahead of him and will need open heart surgery in a few months’ time when he’s bigger.’’

Ms McGlashan thanked the multidisciplinary team at Mater Mothers’ Hospital for their efforts to save Xavier, who spent almost two months receiving around-the-clock care the Neonatal Critical Care Unit at Mater Mothers’.

“Mater definitely helped save my baby and for that I will be forever grateful,” she said.

Xavier, who now weighed 4kg, was one of 165 babies admitted to the Neonatal Critical Care Unit with cardiac issues last year.