The Anderson Family, Hawkes Bay
Lochlan Anderson was born at just 28 weeks old on 8th August 2007 in Wellington Hospital, weighing only 690g.
Like many premature babies, Lochie was suffering from low blood sugar, jaundice and chronic lung disease. He was placed in an incubator and transferred to the neo-natal intensive care unit (NICU) where he was hooked up to a brain monitor and a ventilator and underwent a six blood transfusions to help his wee body survive.
“I had to wait 4 hours before I was able to go see him,” says mum Sarah. “When I finally did get to see him, he was so tiny and hooked up to all these tubes and monitors, it was scary.”
Over the next few weeks Lochie came off his ventilator and was showing signs of progress, but then at 22 days old Sarah noticed Lochie was looking a bit blotchy and mentioned it to the nurses. He was given a lumbar puncture and Sarah was told the news no parent ever wants to hear - her son had contracted viral meningitis. “I didn’t hear anything else they told me apart from that dreaded ‘M’ word,” said Sarah.
Lochie was placed back onto a ventilator and brain monitor, his feeds stopped and his antibiotics began. Doctors did a head ultrasound which showed he had also developed a brain bleed as a result of the meningitis. With great determination, Lochie fought this setback and was soon back on feeds and gaining weight.
Lochie remained in NICU for two months and was then transferred to the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU), closer to home, in Hastings. Here he continued to progress, no longer needing extra oxygen and moving from an incubator to a bassinette. After a month in SCBU Lochie was finally allowed to go home with Mum to Waipukarau.
Weekly home visits of therapy began for Lochie. At six months old his therapist believed Lochie was showing signs of mild cerebral palsy — a condition they will not officially diagnose until a child reaches two years. Upon hearing this news, Sarah pushed Lochie’s doctors for an early MRI scan and sure enough it showed certain parts of his brain had been damaged due to the meningitis.
In February this year, Sarah and Lochie were referred to Auckland’s Conductive Education Centre (a rehabilitation centre for kiwi kids with motor disorders) for an assessment. It was during this visit that Sarah first discovered Ronald McDonald House Auckland.
“The House is fantastic. If you have to be away from home and family, the House is great. All the staff make you feel so welcome and not so stressed out. Being around other Mums who are also in stressful situations has certainly helped; they’re great to talk to.”
Thankfully Lochie was accepted into the Conductive Education course located in Sandringham, Auckland and began the first of many 6-week stays with his Mum at Ronald McDonald House Auckland, attending intensive therapy classes 5 days a week. During class Sarah does all Lochie’s therapy under the supervision of a Conductor in order to learn the therapy so she can administer it from home in between their Auckland visits.
“Before we went to Auckland Lochie couldn’t even hold himself up, lift his arms, sit or drink out of his own cup or bottle — things that able-bodied kids do so easily. After just the first 6-week course he could do all of these by himself!”
Conductive Education has seen Lochie make great progress and he is a very smiley, happy little boy. His developmental delays due to the damage to his brain are being slowly overcome as a result of his access to the course and Mum Sarah’s rigorous therapy, her key goal being to ensure Lochie reaches his fullest potential. The doctors are confident he will be able to walk unaided and lead a normal, active life.
We look forward to seeing much more of Lochie on his road to recovery, and his wonderful Mum Sarah, at Ronald McDonald House Auckland for some time yet.
The RMH Auckland Trust funds and governs Ronald McDonald House Auckland (48 rooms), the Ronald McDonald House Family Room (13 short stay critical care rooms) in Starship Hospital and RMHA St Martins (16 offsite apartments). It is a registered community charitable trust comprised of the following partners: Auckland District Health Board, Child Cancer Foundation, Heart Children, The Rotary Club of Downtown Auckland, Ronald McDonald House Charities and 2 community representatives. The House, Family Room and St Martins provide a ‘home away from home’ for over 3,000 families of children with life-threatening illnesses each year. The Trust through its staff and partnerships actively fundraises throughout New Zealand to achieve the $3,000,000 p.a. it needs to run the facilities and support its families. Charity Registration number: CC23591