Sumpton family behind Sunshine Coast Hospital’s fight for baby MRI machine

Mum Jess Sumpton was feeling unwell and dizzy picking up her sons from school when her husband James took her to hospital, unaware of the dramatic turn their lives were about to take.

Flynn, James, Benji, Albie, Jess, Nellie, and Bowie Sumpton. Picture - contributed.

Mum Jess Sumpton was feeling unwell and dizzy picking up her sons from school when her husband James took her to hospital, unaware of the dramatic turn their lives were about to take.

Used to the familiar rhythm of full-term pregnancies and healthy newborns, the Sunshine Coast mum found herself in uncharted territory with her fifth child, Nellie when she had to give birth at 29 weeks.

The bubbly and bright 31-year-old contracted a common infection from a bacteria many adults carry in their bodies.

James and Jess Sumpton with baby Nellie. Picture – contributed.

“I had what they call Group B Streptococcus which occurs in around 33 per cent of pregnancies, however it actually turned septic,” Mrs Sumpton said.

“Somehow it got into my womb and so I was really sick in the birth suite.

“They brought the ICU team up and I guess at the time I didn’t realise how sick I was.”

The situation escalated quickly, and on March 28 doctors told the pregnant mum her baby needed to be delivered – at just 29 weeks.

“The antibiotics weren’t fixing it, so the only way to save us was to take her out,” Mrs Sumpton said.

“We just made it at 29 weeks and five days – anything earlier and we would have been taken to Brisbane.

“With the four boys, I don’t know how we would have managed that.”

As she recovered from the emergency delivery, Mr Sumpton was told staff were ‘working’ on their newborn daughter who weighed just 1.6kg.

Nellie Sumpton. Picture – contributed.

“A couple of hours after she was born, she had a bubble in her lung, and they had to put in a tube to save her life.

“One of the doctors told me ‘your baby is doing poorly’ and said she’d stay with Nellie throughout that first night to look after her.”

Nellie’s early days were fraught with medical interventions.

“I needed to see her because I only saw her for a couple of seconds until she was taken away,” Mrs Sumpton said.

“When I did, she had tubes everywhere – she had a chest tube, she was intubated.”

The uncertainty was unbearable for the couple.

“I wanted to ask every day – is she going to be okay, but I couldn’t ask if she was going to survive,” Mrs Sumpton said.

Nellie Sumpton. Picture – contributed.

With the help of a breathing and feeding tube, medications and specialist equipment, Nellie’s condition began to improve.

“We could only touch her through the humidicrib – it was two weeks until we could hold her.

“Seeing all the other mums being able to hold their babies during those first weeks, that was hard.”

Managing Nellie’s needs in the Neonatal Unit at SCUH alongside those of her four boys under the age of nine at home was a constant juggling act for the Sumptons.

“The juggle between the boys and Nellie and trying to weigh up my time – I felt guilty either way – but the nurses in Neonatal were phenomenal, they were like her aunties in there,” Mrs Sumpton said.

Jess, James and Nellie Sumpton with Mark and Caroline. Picture – contributed.

“The nurses and doctors, they are incredible.”

With Nellie now healthy and thriving at home with her doting big brothers, Mrs Sumpton is sharing her story to raise funds for an $85,000 MRI-compatible ventilator for newborns through local radio station 92.7 MIX FM’s Give Me 5.

Proceeds from the annual appeal are directed to local hospital charity, Wishlist.

“For babies like Nellie – it would mean not having to take these little babies to Brisbane to have an MRI done,” Mrs Sumpton said.

“Seeing how little and fragile these babies are – to be taken to Brisbane just for that, and having a family at home – it’s stressful.”

As Nellie grows stronger, Mrs Sumpton is grateful for neonatal services and equipment close to home.

“We are a growing population, and this equipment will definitely help many families.”

To donate visit wishlist.org.au.

Originally published as Sumpton family behind Sunshine Coast Hospital’s fight for baby MRI machine