Maya Sharma’s family knew from a pregnancy scans she would need to undergo surgery to stop her curved spine from pressing against her vital organs, and spent weeks in hospital
A young girl underwent life-saving surgery to stop her spine from breaking her heart, and ended up spending weeks in hospital.
Maya Sharma was born with a curved spine which would continue to press against her vital organs unless doctors took action. Mum Priya Sharma was made aware her daughter would have to undergo surgery after the congenital condition was discovered during a routine pregnancy scan.
The one-year-old’s family was told she would need to spend a day in the intensive care ward at Royal Hospital for Children in Edinburgh – but she ended up being sedated for nine days following complications- and finally went home after more than two weeks.
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Mum Priya, from Glasgow, told the Daily Record : “Seeing your firstborn go into surgery is terrifying. Saying goodbye to her was really, really hard.
“We had mentally prepared ourselves for a 24-hour stay in intensive care, but she ended up needing to be kept sedated in the ICU for nine days. Those nine days felt so much longer than that. I kept asking myself, ‘Why? Why Maya?’
“When she was finally woken up, I thought she would want me straight away for comfort. Instead, she was suffering from drug withdrawal—lip-smacking, hallucinating, shaking.
“She seemed like a completely different child. It broke my heart. It was the first time in this whole hospital stay I cried.”
Maya spent 17 days after the hospital receiving care before she was allowed to return home. The brave youngster’s journey is far from over as she will require future surgeries.
Priya continued: “After 17 days, we were finally able to take Maya home—but her journey is far from over.
“This is just the start as she prepares to be fitted for her first Boston brace to help her spine keep growing straight, and she will require more surgeries. Maya has shown us just how strong and resilient she is, and we know she will take anything that comes her way in her stride.”
The family were supported by the Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity where Maya met the hub’s ‘therapet’ Hamish. Priya thanked doctors and staff at the hospital, adding that her daughter received the “the best level of care.”
She added: “We are so glad to have found the Hub as it’s a place that will help Maya feel less overwhelmed by all the appointments she will have to attend as she grows up.
“We also met Susie, ECHC’s complementary therapist. She was incredibly kind and managed to fit me in for a massage, despite being very booked up.
“As a parent, I hadn’t realised how much I needed to take a moment for myself. For half an hour, it didn’t feel like we were in a hospital at all.”
To donate to the children’s hospital charity or read more about their work, click here .