2020-September-28

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The Miracle Baby Who Opened Our Hearts

BY KIM GASCOIGNE · EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT · AUSTRALIA

First birthdays are always special. But when my baby girl, Kira, celebrated this milestone in February, it was especially poignant for my husband and me.

That’s because Kira was born with an ectopic heart, an extremely rare condition. The doctors were not sure if she would survive her first night. Despite the odds against her, Kira survived one of the world’s most complex heart surgeries.

Today, Kira is nothing short of a miracle baby.

The miracles started even before she was born. Getting pregnant took us several rounds of in vitro fertilization. On our last attempt, Kira was the only embryo that survived genetic testing.

Cisco employees Kim and Chris with their daughter Kira.

A Time of Reflection

I still remember the details of her journey into this world like it was yesterday.

When my husband, Chris, and I went in for my 20-week scan, I recall the sonographer’s silence when he was doing the scan. He told us to come back and see a cardiologist. My heart sank.

I was told the baby had an extremely rare heart condition that would require surgeries every time our baby grew. The moments that followed felt like an out-of-body experience. We were devastated.

By this stage, I could feel our baby girl moving inside me. We already had a name for her. We’d been daydreaming about all the family adventures and holidays we would share with her in the future. We knew what books we would be reading to her. We had been waiting so long to meet her.

A Second Opinion

Thankfully, our obstetrician pushed us to see another cardiologist for a second opinion. This time we got a slightly more hopeful diagnosis.

Although they agreed there was a heart problem, various doctors believed it was easier to fix than the initial diagnosis. They expected we would enjoy six months at home with her before her operation and treatment began.

I would love to say the rest of my pregnancy was relaxed and enjoyable. The truth is I spent those weeks in a state of paranoia and stress. I took myself to my obstetrician’s office every week for scans just so I could hear Kira’s heart beating.

I had always planned on having a C-section — and, after the diagnosis, it was clearly the safest way to bring Kira into the world. We went to the hospital ready and excited to start the rest of our lives as a family of three.

Only three hours old, Kira was transferred to the ICU at Royal Children’s Hospital.

Will My Baby Live?

Everything was going as planned until the moment Kira was born.

Doctors quickly pulled her out, put her on me, then just as quickly took her away.

The doctors called Chris over to the table where they had realized something was wrong. He could see her little heart beating away under a fine piece of membrane.

Kira was breathing by herself when she first came out, but she worked overtime to take each breath. She was not able to get enough oxygen, and they called a code blue. The room filled with a dozen or more doctors from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Kira was resuscitated and intubated nine minutes into her little life — something I didn’t learn until a few days later.

I was taken to the recovery room where other new parents held their babies in their arms. Here I was thinking, “Is my baby going to live?”

I saw Kira again only briefly as she was sedated and whisked away to the Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH). To see her like this and not to be able to hold her, or even understand what was going on, was devastating.

All I knew was what the paediatrician told me: Kira’s condition was life-threatening, they didn’t know what was going to happen, and they’d take it one step at a time.

What morsels of information I was able to glean during those first few days were soul-destroying. A Google search of “ectopic heart,” for example, will tell you 95 percent of babies won’t survive.

Kira spent 129 days in the hospital, mostly in the ICU ward, and endured multiple lifesaving surgeries before she was finally able to come home with us.

Cisco employees all around the world were rooting for Kira. Here she is with her first Cisco Live badge.

Kira is a true Cisco baby. Her parents Kim and Chris met at Cisco.

Support from Cisco

As deeply challenging as this whole process was, it would have been much harder to bear without Cisco’s incredible benefits and support. Chris and I both work at Cisco in Melbourne. In fact, that’s where we first met.

Cisco has given us the flexibility and trust to work remotely. Cisco’s Emergency Time Off was a godsend that allowed me to attend appointments and scans.

I’m also incredibly lucky to have the most understanding and supportive boss in Ken Boal, VP of Australia and New Zealand. In fact, the whole Cisco Melbourne team and broader ANZ team have been a tremendous support and have even helped fundraise for RCH.

Kira is 19 months old and thriving. She loves smelling flowers.

Chris and I are extremely passionate about raising these funds as we owe our daughter’s life to the hospital.

In July, we celebrated a year since she came home. Through the first 19 months of her life, we’ve cherished every milestone and important moment.

Kira has opened our hearts, and we are so grateful to have her in our lives. She is indeed a miracle baby.