A premature baby girl, Elli Robertson, was born 25 weeks and four days on February 22 in Glasgow, Scotland. She weighed one pound and seven ounces, which is similar to the size of a can of Coke.
According to Daily Record, Robertson is the third child of Caitlyn, whose water suddenly broke on February 18. The 23-year-old Caitlin rushed to the Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock, a town east of Scotland. Caitlyn was later transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Glasgow. The doctors said a cesarian operation would be fatal for Elli and had Caitlyn undergo natural delivery, which took four days.
Three days after Elli was born, she suffered grade 4 bleeding in her brain. Caitlyn said her baby's scan was clear at first but the bleeding was seen two days later on a repeat scan. The bleeding would cause some form or type of disability in Elli that would have to be detected when she grows up.
"It's the highest grade of bleed and she will have some form of disability but we won't know what that is until she gets older. The bleed could stay the same or get worse or she might not make it at all--it's a lot to take in," Caitlyn told the Daily Record.
Besides the bleeding, Elli is also battling infection on her skin and a declining weight. The Queen Elizabeth Hospital's staff are monitoring her weight carefully since it dropped to 678g from 810g. Medics would be stepping in if her weight drops further.
Elli has become so small and fragile that she can only be handled a few times daily. Caitlyn said she and her husband have only carried their daughter only once since she was born.
"She is just so tiny that it's really hard to hold her as something could break so she's only handled every six hours. Me and my husband have only held her once and she weighs little more than a can of coke. She's the size of an average hand. Elli weighed 810g when she was born and now she's just 678g," Caitlyn shared.
"I knew she would lose a little bit of weight but not that much so it's scary - there's nothing of her. Tiny baby clothes could wrap around her ten times over," she stressed.
Notwithstanding, Elli is said to be miraculously breathing on her own. Caitlyn recounted that Elli initially needed a ventilator. But now, she is able to move on to get treatment that would help her lungs to be open. This treatment would make breathing easier for her. Live Action News reported that the doctors were surprised about Elli's progress.
"It's a long journey ahead but she's defied the odds so far," Caitlyn added.
Besides Elli, Caitlyn disclosed that her second child, 18-month-old Hunter, was also born prematurely at 31 weeks. But he was born healthy and was able to come home immediately unlike Elli.
Caitlyn shared that Elli's situation has become a dilemma for her family. She and her husband would have to go to the hospital several times a day to check on their youngest the whole day. This is alongside attending to their two boys at home.
According to Caitlyn, her two boys are also struggling with the matter since they do not know where their sister is. She said Oliver is mostly affected since he could not understand yet why he could not see his sister. Despite these, Caitlyn emphasized that Elli's life is more important for their family.
"Nothing is guaranteed so we want to be with her as much as we can," Caitlyn concluded.
