I certainly do not want to scare Verity but the events that have happened in Shropshire and Telford have brought the events of Verity’s very difficult birth rushing back. For a few minutes, Verity had her cord wrapped around her neck and she was in very great distress, as was her mother.
Having a cord around your neck causes a lack of oxygen to the brain and I wonder if her difficult birth gave rise to mild brain damage; after all, she has been diagnosed as having dyspraxia.
She would probably not want to know if there has been any damage; I hope not but if I was in contact with my daughter, which I am not, I would offer to pay for a full MRI brain scan, something that I can never have, as I have a titanium plate screwed to my skull and with the very strong magnetic field, the plate or screws could be pulled out and I would die. So, I can only have CT scans, which severely limits any neurologist knowing exactly what is going on in my very damaged brain.
So poor were the maternity services at Epsom that a few days after Verity’s birth, her mother was readmitted to hospital, as it turned out that part of the placenta was left in the womb and had become infected. Basically, Verity’s mother had sepsis. Even given her very poor state of health, she was expected to feed Verity; clearly that was not right, as she could not rest. So, for 4 days, after negotiation with the matron, I was allowed to sleep on the floor with just a blanket for warmth and when Verity needed feeding, I stepped up to the plate. It was also during the period when I had my birthday but I had two very important people to look after, so birthdays were put way down the list; the nursing staff were not interested in feeding Verity so I took their place. How could I not?
David's Diatribe 