04/06/2026
Freya 💛
The MRI showed that Freya had a bleed on the brain shortly after birth, which doctors have classified as a haemorrhagic stroke. It’s something that is very rare, especially when there hasn’t been a traumatic birth, and is essentially just very bad luck.
The positive news is that the damage appears to be very localised, which means it shouldn’t affect her movement as she grows 🤞.
The doctors also said she is unlikely to develop epilepsy, with around a 10% chance.
There is a possibility that the injury could cause learning difficulties later in life, but there’s no way of knowing for certain at this stage. It will depend on how her brain continues to develop over time.
The consultant explained that her injury is neither minor nor severe. He said that babies who don’t recover well from this type of injury usually deteriorate and show little or no improvement. Thankfully, Freya is showing positive signs and continues to improve 🙌🏼.
Over the next 12 months, she will have regular appointments with specialists to monitor her mobility, development and growth. If any issues arise, they will be able to provide support and intervention early.
Based on the progress she’s made over the last two or three days, everything seems to be moving in the right direction, although we know it’s going to be a long road ahead.
One thing we can’t stop thinking about is how everything happened. On the day Freya had the stroke, Toni had to stay in hospital longer because she needed surgery. Then, around nine hours later, we were moved from a dark room into a brighter one. The moment we stepped into that light, I immediately noticed that Freya looked grey. That specific moment led us to realise something was wrong, and ultimately saved her life.
She’s now back at PRU in Orpington and we hope to get her home in the next 3 or 4 days.
We received over 600 messages the last 12 days, so thank you to everyone who prayed and had positive thoughts 💛🙌🏼
