“Alannis was born in May 2022 at Chichester Hospital, West Sussex.

All was going well with labour until the final 10-15 minutes when hospital staff became concerned about her heart rate. When born she had her umbilical cord around her neck and she wasn’t breathing.

Alannis was resuscitated and taken from the labour room straight away before we had any chance to hold her.

It later transpired that she didn’t breathe for herself for about 17 minutes. We didn’t see her for hours, but we knew the team were working hard to make her better.

When we finally got to be with Alannis she was connected to all sorts of machines via wires and tubes, and it was explained that Alannis had suffered a ‘moderate’ HIE. She was transferred to Queen Alexandra Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care where she spent several days being cooled before being allowed home.

At Alannnis’ first check up, it was found that she had limited use of her left arm, which resulted in a referral to a physiotherapist. After a few months of physio, she regained full use of her arm!

Alannis has subsequently undergone numerous assessments and is hitting her milestones without any issues at all.

She recently had her 2 and a half year health check and scored 60 out of 60!

Alannis is a fun and cheeky little girl and fortunately shows no signs of her HIE. 

We hope our story gives other parents hope and reassurance in similar times.”