Courtney and Rhys Matulis were over the moon to learn they were expecting their beautiful son, who they named Maverick. He was a rainbow baby, after the Victorian couple lost their first child, daughter Savannah Jane, to miscarriage at 18 weeks.
But little Maverick had a tough start to life, and his doting parents almost lost him without getting the chance to say goodbye.
Courtney and Rhys welcomed Maverick at 23 weeks and five days gestation. He was just 2cm longer than a ruler and weighed the same as a loaf of bread.
“I look back at photos and think, ‘Wow, you were actually that small’,” Courtney tells New Idea.
Courtney was on her first day of maternity leave and having lunch with colleagues when labour began.
“One of the girls said to me, ‘Court, look down. Your feet are bright red.’ I’d had a massive bleed,” Courtney says.
Once at the hospital, doctors tried to stop the birth from progressing, but it was too late. Maverick arrived. His odds of survival were 60 per cent.
“Even though we were told he only had a six in 10 chance of living, I made the executive decision to get him out,” Courtney says.
Because he was so small, Maverick was rushed to the NICU ward to be incubated, while Courtney herself was unconscious and incredibly unwell. Poor Rhys was terrified he might lose both his wife and newborn child.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October 16, 2023-Ausgabe von New Idea.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October 16, 2023-Ausgabe von New Idea.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
PREP, SET & FORGET
LET THE SLOW COOKER DELIVER FLAVOURSOME MEALS WITH MINIMAL EFFORT!
Lady Louise - THE ULTIMATE WORKING ROYAL!
HELPING OUT FOAL-FILLS HER HEART
SKIPPING FOR JOY! Meet the next Bindi Irwin!
MAGGIE AND HER FAMILY ARE ON A MISSION TO SAVE THE KANGAROOS
In sickness & IN HEALTH
DAVID AND SHIRLEY MET IN A STRANGE TWIST OF FATE
Brad's romance rewind - NEW LOVE, SAME OLD MOVES!
ALL THIS IS LOOKING VERY, VERY FAMILIAR...
Margaret & David - SPARRING PARTNERS TILL THE END
THEY'LL ALWAYS BE TWO PEAS IN A POD
CALLUM HOLE 'IM THE NEW KING NEW OF TV'
HE'S STEPPED OUT OF CAMP AND INTO THE SPOTLIGHT
DR CHRIS VS JULIA - TV BATTLE LINES ARE DRAWN!
THE ANIMAL LOVER IS RETURNING TO FAMILIAR TERRITORY
Will the real Bert PLEASE STAND UP?
BROOKE, CAITLIN AND KARLI FELT SOMETHING WAS AMISS
MARY'S BRAVE CONFESSION 'BEING QUEEN IS OVERWHELMING!'
THE AUSSIE ROYAL ADMITS HER NEW ROLE IS TOUGH