'Out of body experience': Sydney mum rushed to hospital during birth of third child
Nadine Waldbaum describes it as feeling like an "out-of-body experience" when she found herself being rushed to hospital for an emergency caesarean for her daughter Hanisi.
Already mum to two children, the Sydney local didn't expect any complication.
Waldbaum was about a week and a half overdue, but both her babies had arrived a little late so she "wasn't too fussed" with that situation.
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Nadine Waldbaum had an "out-of-body experience" when she was rushed to hospital during labour. Supplied
"I had an independent midwife who I was working with and we were planning a home birth, like I did for the other two," she tells 9honey.
"I was just labouring and progressing and my midwife arrived and she examined me and found I had a cord prolapse.
"So we just had to get an ambulance and quickly get into hospital and straight onto the operating table and she was pulled out of me."
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The first time Waldbaum saw her daughter Hanisi was when she was being rolled past her following the birth.
Waldbaum’s daughter Hanisi. Supplied
The first time the new mum saw her daughter was when she was being rolled past her following the birth. Supplied
"She was cute, she was very chubby," she says.
Hanisi was placed in intensive care for the next nine days.
"They didn't really say much. They just said that she needed some ventilation and they were just trying to monitor her and give her a bit of help," Waldbaum recalls.
Hanisi was monitored closely to see if she met her milestones, including feeding, "which she nailed".
"They definitely saw that there were some, like, reflexes that weren't right," Waldbaum says.
Waldbaum tried her best not to think the worst – that damage had been done to her daughter's brain.
Waldbaum tried her best not to think the worst, that damage had been done to her daughter's brain. Supplied
"I could definitely see that there was something different, but you never know because she was meeting all her milestones," she explains.
"She was sitting at a normal age, she was crawling, she was walking at a normal age. So you kind of think she's going to be OK.
"Her responses were slower, her speech development was slower."
At just 12 months, Hanisi was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy (CP), affecting all four of her limbs, with her left side more impacted. Hanisi also lives with epilepsy.
Hanisi was placed in intensive care for the nine days. Supplied
Waldbaum and her husband were determined their daughter would have "the best life possible" despite her CP.
What followed was "full-on years and years of therapies".
"At the time I wasn't working, I was just a mum and I was doing this all," Waldbaum says.
"We never wanted her to feel that she's any different to anyone else, and so we'd always treat her like everyone else.
"We'd always make her do the same amount of chores that the boys do. I think by treating her differently, that is disabling her.
"That's kind of been a motto for my husband and I."
Hanisi is now 11, and thriving. She is a a vibrant, social, and energetic girl who embraces every challenge.
"She can walk, she can run, she can do everything really it's just that she has her limitations," Waldbaum explains.
Hanisi is now 11, and thriving. Supplied
"So it's just always just managing to find the things that work for her and her body."
The family have set themselves an impressive task this February.
They will join 16 other young adventurers living with Cerebral Palsy and their families to take on the Krazy Kosci Klimb, a challenging 18 kilometre trek to the summit of Mount Kosciuszko
"I think I heard about it through one of the Cerebral Palsy Alliance sports camps," Waldbaum said.
This February the family will join the Krazy Kosci Klimb for the Cerebral Palsy Alliance. Supplied
"They asked us if we'd want to participate, and we said, 'OK, let's check it out'. And we thought, why not? And here we are."
Each family has picked a theme, and Hanisi and her team will be dressed in Polynesian-inspired attire paying homage to Moana, the ocean, and her father's Rotuman heritage.
Every dollar raised from the Cerebral Palsy Alliance's Krazy Kosci Klimb will directly support life-changing advancements in treatments, technologies, and equipment for people with cerebral palsy. You can help Hanisi reach the peak at krazykosciklimb.com.au/fundraisers/TeamHanisi.
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