Maitland’s Story

As told by mum Nacita.

In September 2017, my son Maitland was born at just 26 weeks and 3 days gestation. He weighed 1,165 grams and measured 34.5 cm long. My waters had broken a month earlier, at only 21 weeks.

Nine days before his birth, we were transferred from our home in Christchurch to Dunedin, as the Christchurch NICU was full. After Maitland was born, we spent five weeks in Dunedin before there was finally space for us to return home. In total, Maitland spent 172 days in NICU. During that time, he required one surgery before he was finally able to come home at the end of February 2018, on an NG tube and low-flow oxygen.

After four months at home, he was off everything. Since then, Maitland has continued to defy the odds and is now a healthy, energetic eight-year-old. You would never guess all that he has been through. Last year, he came second in his school cross country, an incredible achievement for a boy who was once expected to struggle with his lungs. We are so proud of him.

During his 172 days in NICU, Maitland received 10 blood and plasma transfusions, the first when he was less than 48 hours old. Since then, I’ve become a plasma donor myself and have now donated 33 times. Maitland was intubated and ventilated three separate times, and there were several moments when doctors warned us he might not make it home. His surgery was a double inguinal hernia repair, and his diagnosis at discharge was severe chronic lung disease, which he has since outgrown.

When Maitland came home, we spent a lot of time with the families and babies we met during our NICU stay – the bonds formed there are incredibly strong. Just before his first birthday, he caught RSV and spent 10 days in HDU back on oxygen. Thankfully, since then he’s handled every respiratory illness like a champ.

Today, Maitland loves art, Lego building, hunting, and spending time outdoors. He’s adventurous, kind, and full of empathy – always looking for ways to make others smile.