Brave baby Evy Menzies defies the odds

When baby Evelyn Menzies was being born, her parents did not know if she would be dead or alive.

Baby Evy Menzies. Picture: Supplied

When baby Evelyn Menzies was being born, her parents did not know if she would be dead or alive.

Mum Danni O’Connell was 21 weeks pregnant when her GP referred her to a specialist in February.

A week later the Winchelsea resident was told her baby probably would not survive and if she did, there would be “severe complications”.

Ms O’Connell’s first pregnancy with her older daughter – now 2 ½ – had been “textbook”.

But when she was 26 weeks with her second child, known as Evy, Ms O’Connell was admitted to the Royal Women’s Hospital.
Evy was not growing as expected.

Three weeks later a routine scan showed Evy’s heart was not coping and she was struggling to get what she needed from the placenta to survive.

Evy was born via emergency caesarean on April 3 at 29 weeks’ gestation, weighing just 602g.

Baby Evy with big sister Elsie. Picture: Alexandra O'Neill Photography

Ms O’Connell’s partner, Evy’s dad, had to rush down from Torquay to make it in time for the birth.

“We didn’t know if she would be dead or alive,” Ms O’Connell said.

“It was very frightening.”

Evy was immediately whisked away to a resuscitation area as she was breathing poorly.

She went on to stay in the neonatal intensive care unit for four months at the Royal Women’s Hospital.

Ms O’Connell, 32, stayed at Ronald McDonald House in Melbourne, while her partner and family looked after older daughter Elsie back home.

Eventually Evy was transferred to the special care nursery at Geelong hospital for 10 days before being given the OK to go home in August.

She requires oxygen around the clock due to chronic lung disease and uses a feeding tube as she becomes exhausted trying to feed.

Baby Evy with big sister Elsie and parents Danni and Dave. Picture: Alexandra O'Neill Photography

Ms O’Connell said it was not clear how complications would continue to affect Evy into the future.

She said the ordeal had been “horrendous”.

“It’s turned out lives upside down,” she said.

Returning home with Evy — who she described as brave, chatty and a sticky beak — was “surreal”.

A team from Kids Plus Foundation in Geelong is monitoring Evy and provides her care.

And the family will take part in the Walk for Prems in Melbourne on October 22, which raises money for the Life’s Little Treasures Foundation.

The foundation supported Evy’s family, including connecting them with other people who understood what they were experiencing.

“It’s about recognising the journey with a really premmie baby,” Ms O’Connell said.

The family’s fundraising page is called ‘Tiny but mighty Evy girl’.

Originally published as Brave baby Evy Menzies defies the odds