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Tyla's Tale They say that parent’s don’t choose their children, After my son was born in 1998, and with me being ill with ME (Yuppie Flu and Candidiasis), I did not put much store in my family growing any bigger than just the three of us. On 22nd February 2003, I went for my yearly gynae visit and told the doc that we were considering trying for a second child but that I only wanted to fall pregnant by the end of the year. The doc suggested that my loop be removed now and that we use protection for a couple of months to give my hormones a chance to settle and that due to my medical history said that it could take longer to fall pregnant this time (last time took us 15 months). So out it came and off I went. Well, this time it only took 7 days and my birthday party on 1st March (I won’t go into how it happened – you all know about the Birds and the Bees!!). I started to get suspicious that I was preggy at the end of April, as my lower back was behaving badly, I had put on a kilo or two, and was overly tired and irritable (although I had been that way for a number of years so just thought I had another rise in my Candida levels) – so I decided to do a home-pregnancy test. I shouldn’t have bothered with the home test though – my experiences with home-tests are a joke – the 1st time the blue line said I was, the blood test said I was having a phantom pregnancy! And when I tried again in 1998, the blue line said “not” and the blood tests said “yep!” Pregnancy test! Yeah right – trying to follow the instructions on how to pee on a little paper strip - (girls cannot pee into a bottle – neck too small and I had no Tupperware in my cupboard that I wanted to throw away!) I must have missed most of the strip and instead pee’d all over my hand. After waiting the allotted 5 or so minutes – the strip was definitely a “not”. However, knowing my history with home-tests went to the hospital and had a blood test just in case. The results – a “yep” and the gynae confirmed that I was 4 months pregnant already (we had known with the first pregnancy at 4 weeks). I had just started a new job so this wasn’t the greatest timing but was obviously meant to be as even the gynae was surprised as to how quickly I had fallen pregnant after the loop was removed. In my heart I knew that this babe growing in my tum was a girl – not only did I have very strong intuitive feeling, but had been told about “my daughter” by a spiritual counsellor the previous year, as well as by a psychic – both were convinced when I had been to see them for spiritual healing that I had 2 kids even though I only had a son at the time. The gynae confirmed that my tum was female at 7 months. I had been able to feel movement since my 17th week of pregnancy and her erratic movements and constant moving about in the womb (20 out of 24 hours) had not helped my sleeping at night. I also tried to do too much at the office – running around, organising functions for over 300 people, and working late. By 30 weeks I was in considerable pain in the lower back and tummy and had to have a stress test at the hospital. Due to her constant and erratic movement, I now had an irritable uterus and was having early contractions. I had already told the gynae that I suspected that she would come early and we had booked a Caesar for my due date although he knew that I wanted to have active labour. At 34 weeks, I was given medication and booked off work (semi-bed rest) to try and control the uterine contractions. At 35 weeks they doubled the medication as the contractions were getting worse. My babe had also not put on any more weight from 34 weeks. OUR LITTLE MIRACLE On Sunday afternoon, 23 November, Carl had taken his mum to the airport (she was going to Canada for 3 months), and I had stayed behind to cook dinner. I was 36½ weeks into the pregnancy (due date 17 December) and at 6pm when my backache started getting increasingly painful, I realised that I had gone into back labour again (same as first pregnancy), called hubby to get his butt home and arranged for my son to go to my mum’s. (I have yet to experience stomach labour – both times have only had back labour!!!)
At 2.4 kg, she was so tiny, so beautiful - her head full of silver hair – but her apgar score was very low and within minutes my baby was being given assistance with her breathing. I was allowed to see her briefly, and then Carl went with the doctors to the neonatal ICU ward. I saw her again almost 2 hours later after they had finished with me in surgery, and saw this tiny angel on an ICU High care board oxygen tubes in her nose, anti-biotic drips in her feet and surrounded by doctors and monitors. I was so afraid. The paediatrician told us that Tyla had obviously been ill in my tummy for at least 2 weeks (hence the early contractions) and that she now had PFC – a Pulmonary Foetal Circulation disorder – and could not keep her lungs open enough to breath in any oxygen. I was then taken down to the maternity ward and stayed the night rooming with a The first few days whilst I was still staying in the hospital with Tyla were difficult – I would spend hours next to her bed in ICU. I expressed breast milk every 4 hours for the nurses to feed Tyla through a tube in her nose; I was also being treated for carpel tunnel in my right wrist (when they had put my drip in, they had nicked a nerve in my wrist and I no feeling in my hand); and was also trying to get over the effects of going through a Caesar with only stopayne as I was allergic to all the other pain killers and anti-inflammatories.
Carl or my mom would drive me to the hospital every morning (as I was still not allowed to drive) and there I would stay until Carl fetched me in the late afternoon and we would fetch Keanu from school. Every every 4 hours (day and night) I would express milk for Tyla’s feeds, so my nights were still broken even though Tyla was not with us. After 6 days in ICU, Tyla was moved from the High Care unit to an incubator – she was still on 100% oxygen support and then I was allowed to try and breast-feed her every third feed. It was hard at first as she had not had the chance to develop her suck reflex after being tube-fed and was not able to breathe well whilst the oxygen tubes were in her nose – but I treasured those hours as I was allowed to hold her and allow her to sleep next to my heart. The nurses were amazing – ICU is a scary place – the noise, the lights, the beeping monitors – but the nurses were always so friendly and optimistic, they kept our spirits up even when we’d had a couple of backward steps.
Once Tyla’s oxygen dependence had decreased to 70%, she was moved out of an incubator and into a normal crib, we were allowed to bath her, and I was allowed to feed three times a day. On 14th December, I was asked to book myself into the hospital overnight in order for us to try a night without oxygen and full breast feeds. We were all anxious – would Tyla be able to cope without her oxygen for a full 24 hours? I remember finding a garden in the hospital and sitting there just crying, letting the tears roll that I had not been able to release until then. I had not realised just how tense we had all been. WELCOME HOME! Tyla was allowed home on the 15th December – almost her official due date – and Carl and I – as happy as we were to be bringing our daughter home, were terrified as well. We had purchased an “Angel breathing monitor” and realised that we now had to rely on this machine to warn us if Tyla were to relapse. I think we checked to see if the monitor was working every 10 minutes in the first couple of days. Whilst Tyla was in ICU, she had slept well through the night and had only woken for feeds every 4 hours, but it seems that as soon as she was home, this went out the window. She wouldn’t sleep, and did not feed very well at feeds so demanded food every 2 – 3 hours. The Paed suggested to us that she had “ICU syndrome” – this is when the babies get used to noise and light and now with a quiet room, felt isolated. We turned music up, we talked louder, we left lights on and although Tyla did start calming down, she then developed severe constipation which hampered her drinking and digestion of the breast milk. Christmas came and went, New Year’s Eve was celebrated at home – and by the time Tyla was 8 weeks old, Carl and I were zombies. We had worked out that Tyla was sleeping approx. 45 min’s at a time and was awake for 2 – 3 hours in between at night and would be awake up to 6 hours at a time during the day. Tyla had developed reflux-colic and we took her to chiropractors, iridologists, homeopaths, baby massage sessions; medicated her with chamomilla, losec, and even tried Bennet’s Colic mixture – all to no avail. She was getting worse – the less she slept, the less she ate; the less she ate, the less she slept – and so the cycle went. Perseverance is the hard work you do We were then told to try swapping to a formula, trying to get her to drink with a bottle, a spoon, an eyedropper, a medicine dummy (not that she would even try a normal dummy – pah!), even a syringe and a night nurse for help (all to no avail) changing formula’s 12 times (over a period of 9 months), from soya based to lactogen to pre-digested, nothing seemed to be working – even the Paed was threatening to put her on a fluid drip. There were more times that I can remember when Carl would come home at night and I would be in the rocking chair in Tyla’s room, crying harder than she was, with the utter frustration of trying to get liquid into her and the dread of Tyla having to go back into hospital again. After 6 weeks of desperation, the Paed suggested we try a different tact – remove the bottle completely and only have it visible within her reach, but not to offer her the bottle. Within 2 weeks, Tyla was reaching for the bottle on her own (we aren’t having much joy weaning her off it now at 2½ years old! Good old Murphy’s). She started putting on weight and her drinking became easier. Now that she was starting solids, there wasn’t the desperation of fluid intake anymore, but due to her immature digestive system she wasn’t coping well with digesting the new foods. We kept her on a minimum of 2 weeks per food type and that seemed to help, however her sleep patterns had now disrupted themselves again and the real fun and games began. NIGHT TERRORS Tyla started having “nightmares” – she would not wake up during these episodes, but would scream as if knives were being pushed into her body. This would go on for about 4 hours a night – sometimes a scream every 5 – 10 minutes, but always the same scream. Carl and I took turns in her bedroom again, so that at least someone could be partly normal in the family. As this was not a normal “sleep problem” even the sleep therapists couldn’t help. We tried Vallergan – no effect; homeopathic Avena Sativa – again, no effect! WE TOOK CHARGE! By March 2005, 15 months of broken sleep and frustration, the paed suggested we see a Neurologist for tests. I was very loathe to go as I did not want Tyla to endure painful tests and hospital observation. I then heard about an “energy healer”, Leo, who might be able to pinpoint where Tyla’s problems were stemming from, and as I had been told that his sessions were non-invasive, I thought that this was at least worth a try. I am quite a sceptic when it comes to “psychics” or “fortune tellers” so was totally blown away by Leo’s diagnosis of Tyla. For someone who had not met either my daughter or I before and only knew that we were not getting any sleep – he asked me to confirm if any of the questions he was about to ask, were correct or not, but the questions he asked were all spot-on.
PROF LEO’s DIAGNOSIS Prof Leo explained that Tyla was a “gifted and special” child who had been born with an unattached aura – which explained the negative energy and depressed state that I experienced whilst pregnant, as well as her sorrowful reaction to crying. His belief was that Tyla could see energies - around people and living things. This explained the way she ran and walked drunkenly outside – she could see the energy coming off the ground, and so it looked uneven to her. It also explained why when she looked at people – she saw them not as just body shaped, but saw their aura’s and energies as well. So people were huge in her eyes – too big to look at directly, but small children, babies and animals were easier for her to look at. Leo said Tyla had a special gift – exactly what it is, he couldn’t say, except that she would find out how to use it one day. He also confirmed that my gut instinct about Tyla having a digestive problem was indeed right, but that she would have to grow before it could be managed, however this was not what was causing her “night terrors”. He also explained that she was having “night terrors” as opposed to nightmares – the images that she saw in her dream sleep were not story-based, but sensory-based – sight, sound, touch. Whatever Tyla had seen, heard or experienced during the day would come back to her tenfold in her dreams. This, Prof Leo said, was like being in a squash court and having 10 000 ping pong balls thrown at you at once. Prof Leo spent the entire session just moving his hands above her body – not touching – and whenever he went any where near her tummy, Tyla would giggle uncontrollably, but when he went near her head, she would become quite distressed and shout “NO, sore! ” He explained that what he was doing was attaching her aura and moving her energies around so that she could cope and compartmentalise what she was seeing, and that when he went around her head, her energy was “hot”. Tyla sat on my lap whilst he did this, and if I could even try and explain the vibrations that I could feel in her body, it would sound pretty weird! What Leo said to me at the end of that first session (she needed 6 sessions) was that for the week Tyla would eat and drink without a problem, her sleep would be quieter – less or no screams, that she would be calmer and more contented. However, that after the next session, she would, be ten times worse than what she had been like before.
After 6 sessions, we had a different child – Tyla still would not look at people directly, but her gaze was not as erratic as before; her nights were still broken, but now instead of being up 20 – 30 times a night we were down to about 5 times a night – no longer piercing screams, but a couple of cries and unsettled sleep. Her tummy is still problematic, but with age, we hope it will improve. Tyla at just 25 months old, has finally started sleeping through – we now have about 3 out of 7 nights that are a little disturbed, even though it is taking her at least 2 hours to get to sleep. We will be taking Tyla back to see Leo in about a month – just to show Leo, just how far she has progressed – and he was right, she is special and her “gift” to the world will show itself one day. Today, Tyla is a happy, incredibly independent, potty-trained strong-willed little 2-year old – who thrives on knowledge and interaction - and maybe one day, her full purpose on this earth will be realised by all. I believe she was sent to show me patience, understanding and that it is possible to love with all one’s heart and soul, without feeling like losing a piece of your spirit. ***************************************************************** 5th June 2007 - Update - Tyla's Tale.... I took Tyla to see Leo last month for her check up and see how her energies were doing. Leo advised that she definitely still has the "crystal eyes" and that she will probably be able to see energies surrounding people and things until she is five years old. Other than that, her night terrors have abated quite a bit (only cries 2 - 3 times a night now and it is not always the high pitch scream.) Leo reckons they are now based on "things that she sees" prior to bed that still upset her - could be spirits but we are not able to tell as she does not know how to describe what she sees. I do however know that she sees something or someone in her room some nights as she will actually ask me who is there? Anyway, we are doing a whole lot better now and next update will be in about 9 - 12 months! ***************************************************************** Bevskins xxx !!!
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whole lot of mothers who had their babes with them – it was devastating to know that my little wee one was a floor above me and not next to me as their babes were.
When I was booked out of the hospital and Carl took me home, it was the hardest trip to make as Tyla was still in ICU and we had no idea as to how long she would have to be there. There were so many other babies in ICU (24) and when you saw the other parents with their babies, no one would really talk to each other as we were all afraid that our babies were either better or worse than theirs.
