A baby born with a collapsed lung and chronic kidney disease is defying the odds. Doctors gave Aaliyah Evans just a 20 per cent chance of survival.
Three weeks before she gave birth on April 29, 2022, mum Siobhan Sharrock was told that her baby had chronic kidney disease. The long-term condition means the kidneys do not work as well as they should.
Aaliyah was born with a collapsed lung and the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck, resulting in a bleed on the brain. She later had a bloodline inserted for haemodialysis.
This is a process of purifying the blood of a person whose kidneys are not working normally. It means the family has to travel to Bristol Royal Infirmary for treatment - but Aaliyah is continuing to fight.
Siobhan, 26, from Plymouth, said: "We all thought we were having a healthy baby. It has been hard, it affects the whole family life but we are happy as we have her in our life."
Mum-of-three Siobhan thought she was having a normal pregnancy until she was told her baby had one kidney that wasn't working properly - later diagnosed as chronic kidney disease. She had to give birth in Bristol Royal Infirmary because of Aaliyah's health problems and ultimately credits the staff there for saving her baby's life.
Siobhan said: "The doctors did more tests and scans, sitting us down and telling us that they don't expect our baby to survive. I was devastated, I was angry, I was leaking water throughout my whole pregnancy and I was told not to worry and told I was having a slow labour.
"When I got to Bristol they told me my baby's lungs had too collapsed because I was leaking water."
The baby was born with a collapsed lung and the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck resulting in a bleed on the brain. Now, Siobhan and her partner Chris Evans, 34, drive 240 miles to Bristol four times a week for Aaliyah's hemodialysis.
Siobhan said: "She is doing really good, if you looked at her you would think she is a normal baby, it is not until you hold her and then you see the wires and the scars."
The hope is that Aaliyah will get a new kidney when she turns two.
Siobhan said: "It has not been easy but I have my baby at the end of the day. That is all I wanted and that is what I have got and I am happy to have her.
"It has been hard trying to split myself in two, we have other kids - our family have been amazing in supporting us."
Siobhan's sister Nadine Davies is now taking on the challenge of running the Plymouth Half Marathon to raise money for Wallace and Gromit's Grand Appeal which supports the Bristol hospital.
Siobhan said: "They are amazing, I can't fault them - they go above and beyond. From what I have experienced in previous hospitals, Bristol is completely different. They are so welcoming and always checking up on you and asking how the family are doing."
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