Family hopes to raise funds for triplet’s stem cell treatment
A FAMILY is hoping to raise £18,000 to fund a specialised stem cell treatment in the Netherlands for their baby girl, who only has about 10% of her brain capacity left due to complications during her birth.
Margo Brehaut is one of identical triplets and was born on 9 September last year – along with her sisters Edith and Aggie – following a very high risk pregnancy.
‘The girls were sharing one placenta. I was due for a c-section at the end of September when I would have been 34 weeks,’ said mum Naomi Foley.
However, on 8 September – when she was at 31 weeks – she became concerned at not being able to feel any movement in her womb.
‘I went to have a scan at the hospital and everything was fine, but the following evening I still couldn’t feel them move so I went back again,’ she said.
‘The CCG showed that Margo and Edith weren’t fine, so three hours later I had an emergency c-section.’
Both Margo and Edith were born with shallow heartbeats, and Miss Foley and her partner Dave Brehaut were not able to see the girls for six hours while they were taken to the neo-natal intensive care unit and put on ventilators.
‘Margo was having a lot of seizures. There were discussions about turning her ventilation off but fortunately she pulled through,’ Miss Foley said.
However, scans showed Margo had cysts on her brain.
She was subsequently diagnosed with periventricular leukomalacia – a brain injury most common in premature babies and caused by the white matter surrounding the ventricles of the brain being deprived of blood and oxygen, leading to softening.
As a result of her injury, Margo is incapable of sitting unaided or reaching for objects and she is on medication to help control her seizures.
She attends weekly physiotherapy sessions, and is also under the care of local speech and language and neurology teams.
‘She can’t roll or babble and she used to cry excessively, but doesn’t as much now as the seizure medication sedates her quite a bit,’ Miss Foley said.
Having extensively searched for suitable medical help, the family discovered a specialised stem cell treatment that is provided by CBC Health Clinic in the Netherlands.
The re-generative therapy involves a one-hour blood transfusion of donor stem cells, which could potentially begin to replace the damaged and non-functional cells in Margo’s brain within months.
‘The neurologist we spoke to said that, because of her age, it could help with her seizures and her overall level of engagement, and massively improve her quality of life,’ Miss Foley said.
Health & Social Care said the ‘highly specialised’ treatment could be accessed only through a specialist centre.
‘HSC naturally would like to provide as many services and treatments for islanders as possible, but realistically small island jurisdictions would never have the capability to provide such a specialised intervention as the one highlighted,’ it said.
The total cost of the treatment is 18,000 euros, with the family hoping to raise £18,000 in order to cover flights and accommodation.
A JustGiving page has already raised more than £6,700, and Miss Foley said the treatment could be offered to Margo later this year if the money is found.
‘It’s been a tough year but Margo is incredible and deserves the world,’ she said.
‘The support we’ve had so far has been amazing. It’s certainly made us appreciate life a lot more.’
n To donate to the JustGiving page, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/margos-stem-cell-journey.
