Natasha Pinch remembers just flashes of the day her daughter was born: feeling unwell at home, briefly waking up in the nearby hospital in Powell River, lying in an ambulance. For the most part, Nov. 7 is just a blur for the first-time mom.
It wasn't until the next day that she realized all that had happened: she'd been brought by air ambulance to Royal Columbian Hospital where doctors had performed an emergency c-section to deliver her baby at just 28 weeks, weighing 955 grams - or about two pounds.
"I thought 'Oh, this wasn't a dream,'" recalls Natasha now.
Over the previous weekend, Natasha hadn't been feeling well, but she had an upcoming check-up with her obstetrician and wasn't too worried. What she didn't realize was that she had eclampsia: a complication in which pregnancy-induced hypertension can lead to seizures or comas. It can come on quickly and, in extreme cases, can be fatal.
Natasha's husband Jason called from work to check on her. When he didn't get an answer, he rushed home.
"I just knew (there was a problem.) I had to get home," he recalls.
His instinct was right: Natasha was unresponsive.
An ambulance brought her to the hospital in Powell River - where she'd planned to deliver her baby sometime around her expected due date of January 25. The diagnosis of eclampsia, combined with the baby's gestational age, quickly led doctors to determine that she required a higher level of care and the call was made to have her transported to Royal Columbian Hospital.
As they waited for the helicopter, Jason was forced to make an agonizing choice: to stay with his wife and hope that there'd be room on the air ambulance, which couldn't be guaranteed, or leave her at the Powell River hospital and start out alone, by car, on the next ferry. If he waited and there was no room for him on the helicopter, he'd be stuck until the next day. He opted to start the trip on his own.
Two ferry rides and a five-hour drive later, he arrived in the nick of time.
"I just made it. The baby wasn't born yet," he said.
But before long, Rebecca made her appearance - a full 12 weeks before she was expected and not even in the third trimester of pregnancy.
"It was scary, when I realized what had happened," says Natasha.
Though the chance of survival for premature babies has improved dramatically in the last few decades, a baby born at 28 weeks still faces significant challenges due to the under-development of vital organs.
Dr. Jagdeep Ubhi, the local department head for obstetrics and gynecology at RCH and Natasha's doctor since her arrival, told The Record that babies born before 24 weeks are unlikely to survive.
Though there are recorded cases of "micro-preemies" born younger and making it, it's "very rare," said Ubhi.
In all, Ubhi estimates the hospital cares for between 150 and 200 preemies in the same age range as Rebecca each year - and about 800 babies with a variety of issues in the neonatal intensive care unit altogether.
"In our hospital, it's not unusual - we're one of three Level 3 (neonatal intensive care units) in the whole province," he said.
But it isn't just medical care that helped the Pinch family - it was also the network of support that the hospital has created for families that find themselves in unex-pected and stressful circumstances.
In 2007, the Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation established the Maternity Infant Child Youth Emergency Response Fund with a $10,000 donation from Variety - The Children's Charity. Variety continues to add to the fund each year with, on average, an additional $10,000, while other groups - including CKNW's Orphans' Fund, Chevron and Safeway - also contribute funds and in-kind support.
The fund helped provide Natasha and Jason with accommodations close to the hospital after Natasha was released, so that they could come in daily. The Orphans' Fund donation helped provide a free breast pump for Natasha.
"It's been amazing," she said. "Especially right after everything happened, to not have to figure that out on our own, to have someone do that was - amazing."
The pair have since been able to move in temporarily with extended family in Surrey, and Jason has been able to continue working as much as possible through contact with his company's head office in Burnaby.
On Dec. 6, Variety gave the foundation another $40,495; in all, the organization has given about $1.4 million towards the neonatal unit at the hospital, which has gone towards much-needed equipment.
That equipment has helped create the high success rate the unit has with premature and critically ill babies.
Baby Rebecca, now four weeks old, has gained about a pound. Though still far smaller than an average newborn and connected to tubes in her incubator, she's doing well.
"She's up to three pounds. She's a lot bigger," says Jason, while cuddling his daughter.
It'll be some time yet before she can be released - typically, preemies require intensive care at least until they reach full gestational age, and that's not until the end of January.
But the time will give Natasha and Jason time to prepare to bring her home: still thinking they had nearly three months to get ready, they have only a crib and a dresser.
"Yep," says Natasha with a laugh, "that's all we had. It's just sitting there. We've got a bit to get still."
