Smiling warmly while chatting about the stress of motherhood, the Princess of Wales tickles brave tot Amaya-Rae’s elbow.
It was a momentous occasion and welcome boost for the tiny girl’s mum Mischa Hand, who spent nearly a year by her daughter’s hospital bed as doctors told her eight times her premature baby might die.
Amid such bleakness, meeting Kate at the Evelina London Children’s Hospital – where Amaya-Rae spent 166 days fighting for her life – meant the world to the first-time mum.
Mischa, 27, says: “When the nurses told me she was in the hospital and wanted to meet Amaya-Rae, I completely panicked.
“She was in her nappy. I ran around finding something presentable for her to wear. But as soon as Kate walked in through the door, all the nervousness disappeared.”
Mischa, who feared she would lose Amaya-Rae when she was born 23 weeks early weighing less than 1lb 4oz, praised the easy manner of the princess, who is a patron of the Evelina hospital.
She says: “She had such a calming, wonderful aura about her, she instantly made me feel so relaxed. It was like chatting to a friend.
“Amaya-Rae couldn’t take her eyes off her. She was transfixed and Kate smiled and chatted to her – it really felt that she genuinely cared about us.
“She asked all about Amaya-Rae’s treatment but she also spent about 10 minutes chatting to me and asking how I was coping, as a new mum with such a sick baby.
“It really meant a lot to me that she cared about how I was doing, too.
“There are some really dark days in a children’s hospital, and for our family – and lots of others – there isn’t much to look forward to. Everybody who met Kate said it gave them such a pick-me-up. She was a ray of sunshine in a really frightening time.”
The mum is thrilled to see the princess launch her Shaping Up campaign, which aims to raise awareness of how important the early years of a child’s life are in moulding their later life development.
The future queen premiered the five-year drive – which she called her “life’s work” – in London this week.
The early years “fundamentally shape our whole lives”, the mum of three said, adding: “It affects everything from our ability to form relationships and thrive at work. Those involved in raising children today need the very best information and support.”
Such a campaign is vital, Mischa believes. “Our family knows how important the first few years of a child’s life is – it’s taken a lot of hard work by so many people and a lot of love to get Amaya-Rae to where she is now.
“Kate isn’t just window-dressing this campaign – I can tell she genuinely cares so much about small children and how the first few years of their lives will shape the person they will become.”
Now 17 months old, Amaya-Rae is finally home in Crawley, West Sussex. Because she was born so early, her birth was classed as a late miscarriage. Yet she defied the odds to live – and kept fighting back even when medical teams at three hospitals advised Mischa and her husband Jamie, 28, a council worker, multiple times to say their goodbyes.
Amaya-Rae spent 166 days at the Evelina fighting to survive and it was a particularly dark time for the family when the Princess of Wales visited during the Platinum Jubilee last June.
Mischa recalls: “I was with Amaya and her nurse came in and said someone would like to visit us. I was stunned when I realised who it was.
“She also went down to the paediatric intensive care unit to speak to some of the families there, which I was really surprised by. It is really not a very nice place to visit, it’s lots of very sick, very small babies fighting for their lives.
“As a mum herself, she must get upset by what she sees, but her presence means a lot to all the families.”
Mischa saw no sign of any bodyguards accompanying the princess.
She says: “She just popped in to meet the children. She was so lovely.”
Amaya-Rae was born on August 28, 2021, at East Surrey Hospital.
The mum says: “She was born into a bag and whisked away to intensive care. They told me she was breathing, but we didn’t think we would ever get to hold her alive.” Then a nurse came in with a photo of their baby – and the couple realised they had a fighter on their hands.
Mischa recalls: “She said, ‘She’s quite the character, she’s nibbling the nurses’ fingers’.
“I was allowed to go and see her and I put my hand into the incubator and she grabbed onto my finger. It was so overwhelming – in that moment I fell in love with her.”
Their daughter was diagnosed with pulmonary vein stenosis, a rare condition in which the veins carrying oxygenated blood from the lungs to the heart are narrowed.
It affects fewer than 1 in 50,000 children under two and is more common in premature babies. At 14 days old, the tot was transferred to King’s College in London, with doctors warning she might not survive the journey. She suffered a brain bleed and lung haemorrhage in the ambulance, and during the next 11 months had a perforated bowel, of which 10cm had to be removed, and contracted sepsis.
But she bounced back from everything. And now, although she still needs oxygen for a few months, Mischa says Amaya-Rae is just like any other toddler.
She adds: “I’m not religious but I really do believe she has had someone watching over her, telling her it’s not her time to go yet, sending her back.
“Each time we were told to say goodbye to her, our world crumbled. She is such a happy, chilled-out little girl. You would never know what she’s been through.”
Dr Matthew Jones, consultant at the Evelina, says: “Amaya has done remarkably well. Her family has been incredibly patient, loving and supportive over what must have been an extraordinarily difficult time.”
And Mischa will forever remember the kindness shown during Kate’s special visit, which gave her such a boost. She adds: “Children are drawn to this magical aura she has. She has a real affinity with them and clearly knows what she’s talking about.
“We were so grateful that we got to meet her. It really gave us such a lift.”
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