A brave Blackheath mom has saved the life of her prematurely born daughter after the six-month-old baby stopped breathing.
Portia Marcus, 38, says her daughter Britney is lucky to be alive despite the trauma she has been enduring since her birth on 19 January.
The unemployed mom of two praised Tygerberg Hospital staff for the life-saving training she received while in hospital with Britney.
“Britney was born at 26 weeks and weighed only 700 grams at birth,” Portia tells the Daily Voice.
“She was already born fighting for her life and this was a miracle to us, her parents.
“Since she was born, I’ve spent most of our time in hospital and I've gotten used to it.”
On 10 May, shortly after being discharged from hospital, Britney stopped breathing while at home.
“I went into survival mode and I shouted her name frequently to see if she would respond,” says Portia.
“When she turned blue, I knew I needed to do something and started CPR on the kitchen table until I heard her cry and I continued CPR from home to the hospital.”
Britney was stabilised further at Tygerberg Hospital and Portia adds: “I can’t thank the KMC Team of Tygerberg Hospital enough, especially ENA (Enrolled Nursing Assistant) Heather Saizs because if it wasn't for her teaching me those infant cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) techniques my baby wouldn't be alive.”
Britney was put on a ventilator for about a week before slowly recovering.
ENA Heather Saizs says: “It makes me feel good knowing that my hard work leads to positive outcomes.”
If infant CPR is not done properly, it can lead to rib fracture and damage to internal organs.
Portia says doctors have now diagnosed Britney with a staph infection that’s been killing her white blood cells, and it spread to her throat and lungs.
“She could not breathe on her own until 26 May.
“On 26 June, I went back because her head started to swell and her eyes could only look down.
“She had water on the brain but it was drained, and on 26 July I went back to the hospital for the MRI and they implanted a shunt.”
Unfortunately Britney was admitted to hospital again on Saturday afternoon with a high temperature and the mom says: “It could be because of the shunt in her head, doctors might have to remove it.”