A baby girl who didn’t breathe for the first 30 minutes of her life was saved after doctors resorted to a very unconventional treatment: freezing.
U.K. mom Rebecca Hasler was induced at 36 weeks after doctors at a hospital diagnosed her with pre-eclampsia, a potentially life-threatening disease that can cause a baby’s heartbeat to become irregular. That’s why when Hasler’s daughter, Lily Cracknell, didn’t start crying like most babies do after being delivered, the medics didn’t hesitate before wrapping Lily in a cooling bag that lowered her body temperature and helped prevent the brain from swelling (which can be deadly or cause brain damage). Their actions ended up saving her life.
After being kept in the frozen bag for three days, doctors slowly began lowering her body back to normal temperatures. Soon after, her parents were finally given permission to touch her for the first time. “A few days after the treatment, we were allowed to hold her for the first time, which was so wonderful,” Hasler told the Daily Mail. “I’d been terrified that I was never going to hold her properly and be a mum.”
Now three years later, Cracknell is still a little small for her age, but is growing and is as “full of mischief” as any other toddler. “We are so proud of her. She may be tiny, but she is such a fighter,” Hasler said.
What an incredible story! Though I can’t even begin to imagine how scary and terrifying it must have been for Hasler to see her baby in that condition and not even be able to hold her for the first few days of her life, I bet it has also made her all the more thankful when Lily finally recover. Now Hasler (who gave birth to a second daughter, Rosie, last year), can spend her time enjoying every precious minute with both of her little miracles.
