Ivy Paterson continues to defy odds after being born at 25 weeks gestation

A Stanthorpe family has had to endure the unthinkable after the premature birth of their newborn revealed an array of heartbreaking, serious medical diagnosis that has seen her spend almost two-thirds of a year in hospital. See how the Paterson family has persevered here.

For almost eight months a Stanthorpe family of four has been resigned to Brisbane’s Ronald McDonald House, unable to return home due to the complex medical needs of their newborn.

Hannah and Brandon Paterson welcomed their beautiful baby girl Ivy into the world just past 25 weeks gestation and have sat by her bedside every day since.

Ivy’s premature birth revealed a series of complex medical diagnoses that would see her face 15 blood transfusions before three months of age.

At only 15-days-old and facing her fourth surgery, Ivy’s treating doctors delivered the devastating news to her parents that she wasn’t expected to survive, which left an everlasting emotional scar.

“We’ve been seeing a counsellor here in Brisbane to help us with the emotional side of things, with having been told that she wouldn’t make it at 15-days-old,” Mrs Paterson said.

“(And also) just the fact that she was born at 25 weeks and that (we were told) it was a very low chance that she’d survived this.

“We’ve gone to a few sessions with the counsellors here in Brisbane, and he’s helped us quite a bit.”

Ivy has battled necrotising enterocolitis, a heart defect, sepsis, a staph infection, pseudomonas infection which commonly occurs with chronic conditions, E.coli, Citrobacter inflection, stage 5 ROP, chronic neonatal lung disease (CNLD) and moderate to severe hearing loss.

Ivy Paterson was born at just 25 weeks and 6 days, spending more than 200 days in Queensland Children's Hospital in Brisbane. Photo: Hannah Paterson

If the Paterson family weren’t facing enough hurdles, the breakdown of their only vehicle left them stranded and reliant upon family and the kindness of their church in Stanthorpe to get back home.

“In order for us to get home, we’re actually using our church’s bus, that way we have a vehicle suitable for us to go home in,” she said.

“The church actually did a small fundraiser for us so we weren’t struggling so much financially.”

Staying at RMH in Brisbane eased some of the Paterson’s financial struggles, expressing their utmost gratitude for the opportunity.

“Because there’s communal pantries at the Ronald McDonald House, it’s helped us out a bit when we’ve been low on food, or haven’t had the money to go get more food,” Mrs Paterson said.

“Especially when our car broke down, so having the communal pantries here at Ronald McDonald has been quite helpful.

“We’re quite grateful for the fact that they do have the communal pantries and the communal fridges.”

Ivy Paterson was born at only 25 weeks and 6 days, spending more than 200 days in Queensland Children's Hospital in Brisbane. Photo: Hannah Paterson

Hannah and Brendan also have three other children under the age of four in their care, who haven’t been a silent party to the emotional distress of living so far from home.

Thankfully, the friendships they made during their time at RMH SEQ gave the family comfort and established lifelong connections from the simple kindness of strangers.

“We have gotten really close with the lady across from us because she’s just very sweet lady, (the children) call her nanny Tanya,” he said.

“She is a beautiful soul, when we’ve been struggling and having, you know, really hard times with just kind of finding the time to make dinner and things like that.”

With their days filled inside the hospital, having the extra support from the other families staying at RMH made the world of difference for Hannah, Brendan and their children.

“It really did help the kids as well, because as much as I thought they wouldn’t really notice it, I was surprised by how much they did notice that they weren’t at home,” he said.

“It had a massive effect on the kids and having someone that was so loving, and kind that was like their grandmother made it feel a bit more like home for them.”

Ivy’s father Brandon has been diagnosed with a hereditary condition called HHT, causing bleeds in multiple areas of his body, which can be triggered at any time and recent tests revealed their two eldest children were positive with the condition.

“It has impacted my life with getting a job, finding a job and keeping jobs,” he said.

“I used to work in construction, that was where I wanted to work from the get-go when I left high school and (after high school) I worked in it for two years before I started bleeding really badly.

“My haematologist said no more, you’ve got to find different jobs.”

Ivy Paterson has since been discharged from QCH, with quite a journey still ahead of her. Photo: Hannah Paterson

The Paterson’s are now in the process of preparing to take all four children home, with Ivy officially discharged from Queensland Children’s Hospital on November 2 after 210 days.

Ivy’s ongoing treatment will mean she will require to be on oxygen, as well as being fed through a transpyloric tube.

The medical conditions she faces long term have meant her vision and hearing will be significantly impaired, and require specialist prescription glasses as well as a hearing aid.

In October Hannah set up a GoFundMe to assist them in purchasing a car suitable to transport their family back home and to future specialist appointments.

For anyone who would like to donate to the Paterson family, you can do so here.

Originally published as Ivy Paterson continues to defy odds after being born at 25 weeks gestation