Lyric’s Story

Like many of our premature babies, Lyric’s entrance into the world was dramatic. At just 25 weeks gestation, his mum Alana presented to Mater’s Pregnancy Assessment Centre with symptoms that she thought were bought on by a recent bought of gastroenteritis. However this was not the case. Alana was actually in the early stages of labour.

She was immediately admitted to hospital as the medical team fought to save Lyric.  Alana was given steroids and other medications to help Lyric’s lungs and eyes, and to keep him in utero for as long as physically possible, to enable him to grow and develop.

Four days later, Lyric entered the world 15 weeks early and weighed just 970 grams.  He was taken straight to Mater’s Neonatal Critical Care Unit (NCCU) where he spent the next 83 days under the care of the medical team, as they worked tirelessly to help Lyric have the best possible chance of a healthy life.

Lyric did survive and thrive and although his lungs are still significantly under-developed and he will need to be on oxygen for the first 12 months of his life, Lyric is a fighter.  “The team have been amazed with his development. He’s lifting his head now and meeting milestones,” mum Alana said.

“To other parents going through a similar experience I want to tell them ‘you can get through this’.”

Facts

– More than 10,000 babies are born at Mater each year. Not all of them have an easy start to life.

– A newborn baby’s health can be a key determinant of their health and wellbeing throughout life.

– Each year, more than 2,000 seriously ill and premature babies from across south east Queensland and northern New South Wales come to Mater Mothers’ Hospitals’ Neonatal Critical Care Unit (NCCU) to receive around the clock specialist life-saving care from the team.

Your support of Mater Prize Home raises much-needed funds for ground-breaking research and exceptional patient care, to help premature and seriously ill babies like Lyric.