Margo’s neuro journey

Go fund me take a percentage so have taken £700 out of the total so far.

Written by my daughter (Margo’s mum) and my son in law (Margo’s dad) but go fund me doesn’t cover Guernsey so I’ve set the page up for her.

Hey!!

This is our Margo, she was born on 9.9.23 and is one of triplets.

The whole pregnancy went really well considering the girls were sharing one placenta so it was a very high risk pregnancy. I was due for a c section at the end of September when I would have been 34 weeks.

Unfortunately, on 8th September 2023, I could not feel the girls move - I went into hospital and had a scan and was sent home as they were okay. The next evening I still couldn’t feel them move (I never felt them move in the day) and the CCG read that two of the girls were in distress and within 3 hours they performed an emergency c section. Two of the girls were born with shallow heartbeats, and no respiratory efforts. We weren’t allowed to see them for 6 hours, and when we did, Margo was heavily sedated due to her condition.

The girls were quite poorly in NICU, with Margo being the poorliest and having multiple seizures, these were uncontrolled to start with and discussions were had about turning off her ventilation.

Fortunately Margo showed her strengths and pulled through, although unfortunately at some point during her birth/ before birth her brain was starved of oxygen and she obtained a severe brain injury. Margo has about 10 percent of her brain left. She has high tone to all limbs, has uncontrolled seizures and due to her seizure medication sleeps a lot of the time which hinders her rehabilitation.

We attend weekly physio where we are working on head control and sitting strength, and she is under speech and language and a neurology team.

Margo is unable to roll, sit unaided, reach for objects, babble, laugh, and many other things that her sisters are now doing. But she is incredible, she is more than just 10 percent. She is aware, she loves cuddles and sunshine, she is Margo.

Margo’s future is uncertain but we want to give her the best opportunity possible, and for that we need your help.

CBC health in Netherlands offer stem cell treatment for brain injury children, this is done via a one hour blood transfusion of donor stem cells. And due to Margo’s age and neuro plasticity, we are hopeful that the treatment will make life considerably better for her.

Thank to you all we have raised the money and booked in for Stem cell treatment at the end of November. Research shows the greatest outcomes are when stem cell and hyperbaric oxygen therapy are done together.

We have spoken to Jersey hyperbaric oxygen therapy & they have reassured me that Margo is a perfect age for it - the younger the better (and they’ve had younger than her). The idea is that you go into a chamber and are given 100 percent oxygen which regenerates cells. The initial treatment would be 4 days a week for 5 weeks, this costs £20 a day. The sessions are 1 1/2 hours. Then afterwards it would be once a week for maintenance therapy.

With Margo being one of triplets, we can’t be away for long periods at a time so I would be looking to fly with her four days a week (she sleeps quite well with travelling so this won’t have a burden on her). Unfortunately Blue islands flights are £220 return each day which is just not affordable without help. Guernsey also has a hyperbaric oxygen chamber but unfortunately this is for divers only.

I feel utterly powerless to have something so incredible and so close but not to be able to reach it, but I’m also so so appreciative that we are able to do the stem cell and we are booked in for 29th November.

I would like to do this before stem cell as the sooner the better, studies have shown the greatest benefits have been within 9 months post injury so we really have no time to lose.

If you are able to help in anyway or donate then thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We have to try, for Margo’s marvellous mind

We’ve never done one of these pages before, but Margo deserves the world, and we need your help. Please.

The target has been doubled just to allow room for travel for maintenance doses & to start saving towards our second stem cell treatment a year down the line. But anything at all - even a share, helps.

We have set up an instagram page so you can get to know Margo more, and follow her journey with us.

Thank you :) :)

Instagram - @margos_marvellous_mind