Miracle girl wins battle for survival
Published: February 3, 2006
An Ulster girl who was airliftedfrom Ireland to Scotland for urgent treatment because all hospital beds were full up, has returned home after winning her battle for survival - against all the odds, it can be revealed today.
Exactly a month ago today baby Blathnaid McLaughlin was at death’s door.
Now as our exclusive pictures show, the remarkable Rasharkin baby is looking the picture of health again and showing no signs at all of an ordeal that sent shockwaves around the community.
The one-year-old wonder tot ended up in a Glasgow hospital after being airlifted there when there were no spare special baby beds anywhere in Northern Ireland.
The incident prompted the youngster’s family to call on Health Minister Shaun Woodward for extra funding for intensive care beds.
And health chiefs described the across-the-water transfer as a “rare occurrence”.
But today as grandmother Maureen watched little Blathnaid crawl around the living room floor being spoiled by her four brothers, Gearoid (7); Peader (6); Daithi (5) and Setanta (2), the dark days of early January seemed far away.
“She’s our wee miracle girl,” she said. “She had been so unwell but she has come back from death’s door and is now doing really well.
“Prayers have definitely been answered - everyone around the area was praying.
“People were talking about wee Blathnaid everywhere - in the shops and in the schools.”
Blathnaid was flown to Yorkhill Hospital in Glasgow because there was no free paediatric intensive care beds at the regional centre - the Belfast Royal Hospital for Sick Children.
She had viral pneumonia and a collapsed lung.
Blathnaid, who had her first birthday just three weeks ago, had been rushed to Antrim Area Hospital on New Year’s Day with breathing difficulties.
Doctors there worked to unblock her airways but she required further urgent hospital treatment so she was put on a life support machine and taken by a specially commissioned small plane, with a specialist crew from Scotland on board, to Yorkhill in the early hours of January 2.
Maureen said: “The birth of little Blathnaid had made my son Kevin and daughter-in-law Claire’s life complete.
“They had previously lost two baby girls at birth.
“Blathnaid had tonsillitis in August and things deteriorated from then.”
Maureen said it beggared belief that her granddaughter had to be flown to Glasgow for a bed and recently in the Belfast Telegraph she made a passionate plea to Health Minister, Shaun Woodward to do everything in his power to fund more intensive care paediatric beds for Northern Ireland - and the staff to run them.
“This kind of thing should not be happening in 2006,” she said.
“It was so unreal. We still cannot believe it,” she said.
After some 10 days in Scotland she was taken back to Northern Ireland, still on a life support machine.
Blathnaid was then admitted to the Royal and after just a few days she was taken off the machine and transferred to the bronchial ward.
Maureen said: “If it had not been for the option of going to Yorkhill, little Blathnaid would not be alive today.
“The staff there were first-class.
“Staff at Antrim and the Royal were also fantastic. Everyone has been so good.”
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