Mum believes Mr Tickle book saved daughter’s life

MEET the baby girl who was saved from a life-threatening condition by a Mr Men book.

MR MEN SAVED MY BABY

MEET the baby girl who was saved from a life-threatening condition by a Mr Men book.

Tiny Ava Allen wasn’t expected to survive after being born 14 weeks premature with a rare lung condition, and needed an emergency operation to stand any chance of pulling through.

Doctors warned her 20-year-old mum Vicki that no child as young as Ava had ever survived the surgery.

As baby Ava lay recovering from the operation, her mum began to read her a Mr Men book — and was amazed as the sound of her voice steadied her daughter’s heart rate.

Ava Allen, now nine months old, has fought against all the odds to still be fighting fit today but her mum thinks it’s all down to Mr Men.

Vicki, 20, from Horley, Sussex, said: “All I wanted to do was pick her up and cuddle her, she was so small and fragile, but she was too small to hold.

“The most I could do was stroke her cheek through the incubator but when I started reading Mr Tickle her heart monitor started to settle down.

“It was amazing. I knew straight away she liked the book and it was helping so after that I read her every single Mr Men and Little Miss book.

“Now that she’s pulled through against all the odds I’m sure the Mr Men helped, those books will always have a special place in my heart.

“She still loves the Mr Men and starts to jump up and down when she sees me with the Mr Tickle book.”

Ava was born weighing just 567 grams, and was given just a 20 per cent chance of survival after being diagnosed with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia — a condition that hinders lung formation.

Vicki couldn’t cuddle her daughter for 15 weeks while she struggled for her life in the incubator but when she started reading to young Ava her heart monitor started to steady and relax.

Completely unaware of her pregnancy until she passed out at work, she was rushed to hospital only to find out she wasn’t just pregnant, she was 25 weeks’ pregnant.

She gave birth just six days later in what was a huge but very happy surprise for Vicki and her boyfriend Chris Hutcheson, 21.

“I had no pregnancy symptoms at all which was why we found out so late,’ she said.

“Ava was a huge surprise but it was obviously meant to be. She’s an absolute delight and it’s incredible that she’s battled through so much.”

Ava weighed just 567 grams when she was born. Picture: Caters News

Ava’s arrival was a highly complicated birth that saw Vicki haemorrhage and lose around 1.4 litres of blood.

Doctors feared for both of their lives, particularly Ava, who was diagnosed with CDH — a condition that leaves a small hole in the diaphragm, allowing the abdominal organs to push into the chest cavity and hinder lung formation.

Babies with the condition only have a 50/50 chance of survival as abdominal organs in the chest cavity can severely affect the ability to breathe and even move the heart out of position.

At 30 weeks, still 10 weeks premature, doctors operated on Ava to move the abdominal organs back below the diaphragm and repair the hole.

Vicki said: “That operation was the longest four hours of our lives.

“Waiting to see if she’d be OK was just agonising but the relief when the doctor came out to say it had all gone well was just overwhelming.

Finally, 15 weeks after she was born Ava came home on 17th December — just in time to open her Christmas stocking filled with Mr Men books.

Now Ava is 9-months-old and thriving. She can sit up, she’s learning how to talk and she still gets excited when Vicki reads Mr Men to her.

Ava has suffered no long-term complications from the CDH, her operation or her premature birth.

Beverley Power, secretary and trustee for CDH UK — The Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Support Charity, said: “Ava is the youngest survivor of CHD we’ve ever seen.

“Her recovery is quite remarkable. We’ve never known anything like it in our experience.

Justin Richards, consultant neonatologist at St George’s University Hospitals, said: “Preterm babies can hear their mother’s voice and it is certainly possible that Vicki reading to Ava may have had a calming effect.

“The neonatal team at St George’s hospital thought that it was likely that Ava would be too sick and small to survive.

“Most babies born this prematurely with a diaphragmatic hernia are not strong enough to make it through intensive care.

“Her survival is a testament to the caring and expertise of the nurses, doctors and surgeons looking after her.”