Bibi Amina Shaik was our first born and as new parents we were pretty excited and couldn’t wait for her arrival. And finally on Friday 25th May 2018 at 7:40 she was born to the proud parents, Tawwaba and Wahied Shaik. She seemed healthy at 2.4kg. Although tiny no one thought anything of it as both her dad and I are quite tiny. Everything seemed pretty normal until about 18:00 the following day, she started getting sick and choking with every feed. The nurses took her away from me and treated her in the nursery.

After visiting hours the nurses notified my husband and I that she needed to go to NICU as her oxygen levels were dropping and so was her pulse. On the Sunday at about 14:00 a cardiologist came to examine her and conveyed the devastating news to us that Bibi Amina has a Congenital Heart Defect. (CHD). She needed to be transported to a different hospital by ambulance.

Not understanding the diagnosis completely, never ever heard of CHD and a first time mother I was terrified for my baby to be alone and secondly for me it was going into the unknown.

On the 30th May it was confirmed by the cardiologist and thoracic surgeon that she had a PDA, ASD and TAPVC. Totally foreign to both my husband and I but all we can remember is that she needed open heart surgery.

This took place at 7 days old and only weighing 3.4kg. For the next few days her little life consisted of beeping monitors and pipes and a nurse at her bedside 24/7. Fortunately, she recovered very well and was discharged on the 13th June. 

She was very brave and strong but for me as her mother it was an emotional scary journey. From the one minute to the next I did not know what to expect. Around every corner was a prayer for her. This is extremely overwhelming for new parents.

Thankfully, she is well and turned 4 years old on the 25th May. She started school this year and is making good progress in every area of her milestones.

She participated in a fun walk at school and walked off with a prize.

To all CHD mothers out there, difficult as it is, remain positive.