Pregnant mum went from McDonald's drive thru to fighting for her life in hospital
A pregnant mum went from the McDonald's drive thru to having life-saving surgery in hospital after noticing she was bleeding heavily.
Kim Morgan, who was pregnant at the time, had taken her children Lula, 10, and Lucas, 11, to the fast food chain for a treat after picking them up from school, but when they got home she realised she was bleeding. Her boyfriend, Jamie Webster, quickly rushed 34 weeks pregnant Kim to Ormskirk Hospital from their home in Skelmersdale, dropping her children off at her brother's on the way. Kim arrived at the hospital unconscious and lost 2.4 litres of blood that night.
"I was having a great pregnancy. I picked the kids up from school and I treated them to a McDonald's on the way home. I got home and I noticed I was bleeding so I told my partner," she said. It comes after a doctor's warning to people who drink even a 'single cup of tea'.
Kim continued: "We dropped the kids off and drove straight to the hospital but by the time we got there I was completely unconscious. I don't remember any of it from that point.
"Ellie was born unresponsive, she wasn't breathing and had no heartbeat so the doctors had to work on her. It took about 21 minutes to get a heartbeat going. She was intubated and sent straight to Liverpool Women's Hospital."
Ellie was born on April 2 2024 and the next day Kim, 32, a barmaid, and Jamie travelled to Liverpool to see their daughter. They were informed she had suffered brain damage as a result of lack of oxygen and blood to her brain following a placental rupture.
It was 118 days before they had the chance to take Ellie home with them but even then she was quickly rushed back into hospital. Ellie, who is now 16 months old, has no gag reflex and is unable to swallow.
She is fed through a tube and has been diagnosed with drug resistant uncontrollable epilepsy following stints in Alder Hey. Kim explained how Ormskirk Hospital referred her daughter to Alder Hey, with the Liverpool-based children's hospital seen as their best bet of treating her.
The mum-of-three told the Liverpool Echo: "She's now receiving palliative care at Alder Hey which has been a huge thing to come to grips with that within months of being born we were told we're getting palliative support because they have no idea how long her life expectancy is."
Ellie is now suffering "hundreds of seizures a day" and it is down to the judgement of Kim and Jamie when to administer rescue medication whenever she is at home, although the longest their daughter has been at home is just 18 days. Kim said Ellie "isn't even safe in her sleep" as she continues to suffer seizures throughout the night.
The family are now hoping the generosity of others can help them through the coming months with Ellie set to be in Alder Hey for the foreseeable due to an unknown rash appearing on her body. It was initially believed to be as a result of measles, but this has since been ruled out.
Both Jamie and Kim have been unable to work, with Jamie losing his job as a lab technician the week Ellie was born, and they have now launched a GoFundMe to assist with travel costs and the cost of medical equipment at home.
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