William’s story Home William’s story William is a happy go-lucky little boy who loves to clap, wave, talk to his big brother Harry, laugh and roll around on the floor playing with his toys. Looking at him now, at 11 months old, you would never know the tough start he had to life. William was born at 38 weeks, weighing 2.9kg. Being a little on the small side, routine three hourly glucose tests were put in place as a precaution. On the ward, mum Kathryn had the usual newborn niggles with feeding and William was a little grunter when breathing but neither she nor her husband Tom or the midwives had any concerns. His glucose tests were moved to six-hourly and he got sleepy. All very normal for a fresh newborn baby. A little while later following a much-needed sleep, Kathryn woke to William crying. Comforting him with a cuddle, Kathryn noticed his fingers were ice cold and knew something was wrong. The midwife carried out a glucose test, earlier than the next scheduled one, and it revealed William had extremely low blood sugar and laboured breathing. William was transferred to the nursery for assistance with his breathing and blood pressure and he was administered broad-spectrum antibiotics. At this stage, his condition was not overly concerning, and he was expected to respond well to the antibiotics and return to the ward in a day or so. However, at around midday, Kathryn and Tom received the terrifying news that William had taken a turn for the worse and was being transferred to the Neonatal Critical Care Unit. It was confirmed that he had contracted a Group B Strep infection during delivery. From that infection, he had also developed sepsis in his blood, and to add to it, a chest x-ray came back showing William had pneumonia. Kathryn and Tom were told that if William didn’t start responding to the antibiotics, they should prepare themselves for the possibility they could lose William. “We were broken and numb, I think that just about sums it up. We were extremely apprehensive and reluctant to even flirt with any feelings of hope or optimism in case the worst came to pass” Kathryn said. “We were extremely unprepared for any of this, especially having previously had a ‘normal’ new parent experience with William’s older brother Harry”. The next morning, news that William was stable was a relief. Unfortunately, it was a short-lived relief when the doctors informed them that to keep him stable, he was on the maximum levels of available treatments including oxygen and adrenaline. It was decided that William should be placed on ECMO (a life support technique that takes over the function of a child’s heart and lungs) to keep him alive and allow his body to try and fight the infection. Thankfully, the operation was successful, and William responded well to ECMO. Five days later he had all but beaten the infection and was taken off ECMO. Five more days in PICU learning to breathe on his own again and he was ready for the ward, and then home! “Once William was on ECMO he didn’t look back. Every day William was better than the day before, and we started to see the light at the end of our dark tunnel. We spent a lot of time at William’s bedside and it was lovely when the volunteers would come around with books so we could read to him”. added Kathryn. The family recently took William to the beach for the first time and he loves the water and the sand, although unfortunately learning the hard way, that sand isn’t for eating!! It is hoped, that apart from a few routine outpatient appointments, Williams’s medical journey is over, giving the family lots of time to enjoy many more ‘firsts’ in William’s life. Read more Wonder Warrior stories Your donation will help fund life-saving medical research and critical equipment, and provide the highest level of care for sick kids, just like William. Donate Once Donate Monthly Your donation will work wondersfor sick kids today.Would you like to donate monthly? Your donation of will work wonders for sick kids Your Details Have a PO Box or can't find your address? State*ACTNSWNTQLDSATASVICWA Country Afghanistan Åland Islands Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Cook Islands Costa Rica Côte d'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Curaçao Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Réunion Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Barthélemy Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin (French part) Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Sint Maarten (Dutch part) Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States United States Minor Outlying Islands Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, U.S. Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe < Back Your donation of will work wonders for sick kids Your donation of will work wonders for sick kids Your donation of will be charged on the of next month and the following months thereafter Your donation of will be charged today and on the of the following months thereafter Payment Details Credit Card Direct Debit MastercardVisaAmex Month*010203040506070809101112 Year*20202021202220232024202520262027202820292030 15th of every month 28th of every month What is CVV? What is Date of Debit? 15th of every month 28th of every month 15th of every month 28th of every month For more information please check our Terms & Conditions Your request is being processed. < Back Other ways you can help Everything we do for sick and injured kids is made possible by the generosity and support of our donors, partners and the community.