Australia’s youngest surviving baby was born 4,000 kilometres from home – and the only way little Stevie could be flown back to Perth was by the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
An infection caused Perth mum Bree Basille to go into premature labour during a much-anticipated family holiday in Queensland. She was 21 weeks and 4 days pregnant with twins when her waters broke.
Bree was placed on bed rest at Cairns Hospital and she and her partner Jake O’Reilly were told to prepare for the worst. At that stage of pregnancy, the odds of survival are devastatingly low.
But doctors at Townsville University Hospital’s (TUH)’s specialist neonatal unit offered the couple a glimmer of hope. If Bree’s pregnancy could reach 22 weeks, they said they would do everything possible to save the babies.
Bree was transferred to TUH. Two days later, at 22 weeks and two days, Bree gave birth to daughter Stevie and son Adrian. Stevie weighed just 500 grams, comparable to a tub of butter. Tragically, Adrian passed away after 18 days, his tiny kidneys unable to sustain his life.
Stevie’s fight for life was nothing short of extraordinary. During her first few months, she endured multiple complications - including two collapsed lungs, sepsis, bowel surgery, and seven blood transfusions.
Stevie spent three months in specialist care in Townsville. Once she reached 35 weeks, Stevie and Bree were given the all-clear to be flown home on the Rio Tinto LifeFlight jet, assisted by a nurse and a doctor from WA Health’s Newborn Emergency Transport Service. The long flight home included a fuel-stop at Uluru.
“They made it so easy, and they were so loving and caring. I didn't have to think about a single thing,” said Bree. She singled out Flight Nurse Cassie who made sure to bring snacks for the flight home, and with the neonatal cot taking up all the space in the ambulance, she even joined Bree in the taxi to the airport so she wouldn’t be alone.
“The RFDS were flying angels,” said Bree.
For Cassie, playing a part in taking Australia’s earliest preterm arrival home was one of the most profound moments of her career.
“I’m deeply grateful to have been part of the team and to have witnessed the strength of the smallest patient I’ve ever cared for,” she said.
Once safely on WA soil, Stevie was under the care of a dedicated neo-natal team at Perth’s King Edward Memorial Hospital.
After 137 days in hospitals on opposite coasts of Australia, Stevie was able to be home for her first Christmas with her three older siblings.
“The kids decorated the Christmas tree in pink to celebrate Stevie being home,” said Bree.
Now close to five kilograms and meeting every milestone for a premature baby, their tiny warrior is thriving in every way.
“Stevie loves going for walks in the pram, and is mesmerised by sunsets,” said Bree.
“We are just so, so grateful,” she said.
