A little girl who was born with no blood in her body has confounded doctors after she made a miraculous recovery.
Maisy Vignes from Waterford, is now four years old and has just started school in Holy Cross National School in Tramore, despite having been born with a haemoglobin level of flat zero.
Maisy was born six weeks premature in December 2009 and her entire blood supply was absorbed by her mother Emma during the pregnancy.
The little four-year-old, who survived “against all the odds” was placed in intensive care for two weeks after she was born. It was feared that she would be left brain damaged having been starved of oxygen in the womb.
Maisy pictured in her first few days at Waterford hospital. (Pic: thelittleyellowduckproject.org)
“It was an unbelievable situation,” said Maisy’s mother, Emma. “None of the consultants had ever heard of something like it happening before.
“There were previous cases of children being born with tiny amounts of blood, but Maisy had a haemoglobin level of a flat zero. There were cases recorded of people surviving with a haemoglobin level of four, but for any human to survive after having no blood at all was unheard of,” she continued.
Everything was going fine with Emma’s pregnancy, until the 34th week when she had a feeling that something was wrong and that she felt swollen. She also noted that Maisy had stopped moving completely. Maisy was later delivered by emergency caesarean section and then rushed to intensive care.
“I didn’t have the chance to see her before she was taken away,” Emma explained. “Nurses kept rushing in to keep me updated, but everyone was very glum and serious-looking.
“I learned that Maisy had no blood – just a thin, plasma substance in her veins..She had the first of her blood transfusions through her umbilical cord.”
After further transfusions, and weeks of worrying Emma and her husband, Mook, were finally able to bring baby Maisy home on Christmas Day.
Maisy is enjoying her time at school. (Pic: Irish Mirror)
“The best theory the doctors have come up with is that membranes in the womb rubbed together, causing a rupture, which led to Maisy’s blood leaving her body and going into mine.
“As far as I know, there have been no other cases like Maisy’s recorded anywhere in the world. She’s become the subject of lectures and journal articels, and all the doctors ask about her when we go back into hospital.”
The little girl is now impressing teachers at her primary school in Waterford.
Cover pic courtesy of the Telegraph.
