Sisters shine light on special bond for National Siblings Day

They arrived early and in traumatic circumstances, but the Fitzgerald sisters have forged a special sibling bond that will last their lifetime.

 

Triplets Liliana, Charlotte and Isabella were born via emergency caesarean section seven weeks early after their mum, Leonie, had a seizure and was placed in a medically-induced coma.

 

“It was a Code Blue situation,” Mrs Fitzgerald said.

 

“I was rushed down to theatre to save all our lives and the girls were urgently delivered. 

 

“The first time I saw the girls in the Neonatal Critical Care Unit, they were hooked up to machines and there were tubes everywhere.”

 

Mrs Fitzgerald said National Sibling Day (April 10) served as a reminder of how fortunate her daughters were to have one another in their lives.

 

“The triplets spent more than a month in intensive care,” she said.

 

“They’re now happy and healthy one-year-olds who have gone from being tube fed and lying in incubators, to running around cuddling each other and chasing our dog Belle around.

 

“We will forever be grateful to the doctors and nurses who saved all of us.

 

“I believe their traumatic birth has brought them closer together – they already have an unbreakable bond.”

 

Mrs Fitzgerald was in a medically-induced coma for 16 hours as a result of a seizure brought on by eclampsia, a rare but serious condition associated with high blood pressure during pregnancy.

 

Aged 45 when she was pregnant, Mrs Fitzgerald, a property investment and wealth specialist, was admitted into Mater Mothers’ Private Brisbane a day before her scheduled caesarean section as a precaution because she felt “something wasn’t right”.

 

Four hours later, she had a seizure followed by the emergency birth of the triplets.

 

Liliana was the smallest of the trio, weighing 1190 grams, Charlotte weighed 1920 grams and Isabella weighed 1590 grams.

 

“As soon as the girls were placed on my chest they stopped crying and that was a pretty magical experience between a mumma and a bub,” she said.

 

Mrs Fitzgerald’s husband Peter said he did not know how his wife would recover, fearing she could have sustained brain damage as a result of the seizure.

 

“I had to accept she was in good hands and focus on the girls,” he said. 

 

Mrs Fitzgerald said according to her medical team at Mater she made a miraculous recovery during her two-week stay in hospital.

 

Mater Mothers’ Hospitals have one of Australia’s largest Neonatal Critical Care Units, providing compassionate and holistic care to seriously ill and premature babies.