Mum has a double lung transplant after giving birth at 24 weeks

A mother who gave birth at 24 weeks and then had a double lung transplant has returned to the hospital to thank the staff who looked after her and her daughter.

Aimee, who is from Rotherham, ended up in the Royal Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, after having difficulties with her breathing.

The 37-year-old found out she was three weeks pregnant during the tests, which revealed abnormalities in her lungs, and gave birth prematurely before the transplants.

"When she was placed into my arms it was a real breath-taking moment... and having that spark between us I think was the turning point for me," she said.

Aimee was a professional dancer and had led an active lifestyle, rarely becoming unwell.

But in February last year, she attended A&E in Nottingham after struggling to breathe.

Aimee assumed she had caught a bug and said she did not think too much of it at the time.

But while being treated for pneumonia, she had scans which revealed the significant lung abnormalities.

She also discovered she was three weeks pregnant. That meant further investigations were delayed, causing her condition to deteriorate.

Concerned about her symptoms, she was referred back to the Nottingham hospital and was later transferred to the Royal Papworth Hospital, where specialist teams worked with maternity colleagues from The Rosie Hospital, Cambridge.

Aimee said the plan had been to try to "keep the pregnancy going as far as possible".

At 24 weeks, and while in the critical care unit at Papworth, she went into premature labour.

"The fear and overwhelming emotions clouded over any excitement as I knew what the outcome could be," she said.

Jessica weighed 705g (1lb 9oz) – the same as about two cans of soup.

Catherine Barlow, lead midwife for maternal medicine for the East of England, delivered the baby.

"It was an emergency in the sense of we needed to deliver baby Jessica in a safe way and making sure we had everybody together," she said.

"Once the decision had been made, we had the appropriate people and equipment here within two hours."

Aimee said it had been "quite frightening" after the Caesarean section.

"I knew I had a baby but I did not know where she was," she said.

A few days later, Aimee suffered cardiac arrest and was resuscitated before being put on to the most advanced form of respiratory support, ECMO.

She was urgently added to the lung transplant list before receiving the double transplant.

She returned home in September after relearning how to eat and walk.

Jessica remained at The Rosie and was transferred to the NICU at Doncaster Royal Infirmary to be closer to her mother.

"She was such a fighter – you could tell she had the fight to survive. She still has that fight now," said Aimee.

Aimee visited the Royal Papworth Hospital on Tuesday with Jessica to thank the staff who cared for them.

"Even in the scariest moments, I always felt safe," she said.

"When I couldn't speak or move, the nurses still made me feel human – washing my hair, putting on moisturiser, talking to me, reassuring me."

Barlow said: "When I last saw [Jessica], she was absolutely tiny and would have fitted into my hands, so it is really nice to see her looking so healthy and well."

Genetic testing has since revealed Aimee carries a gene variant believed to have been triggered by pneumonia.

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