Esme’s Story – Living with HIE
Posted on in Medical Negligence
Esme was deprived of oxygen whilst she was being born. She was diagnosed with Grade 3 Hypoxic Ischaemic Encephalopathy (HIE) at birth. Esme was resuscitated swiftly but she developed fits when she was a few hours old, although these were recognised and treated appropriately. Esme required respiratory support for 5 days.
Thanks to timely therapeutic hypothermia which was started within 30 minutes of her birth and continued for 72 hours, Esme made a remarkable recovery. In the weeks and months that followed her discharge home, there seemed to be no apparent physical or obvious cognitive issues and Esme was thought to be developing normally. After a developmental check at the age of 2, Esme was signed off from any further paediatric follow up.
Her mother became worried that all was not well when problems with speech and language began to emerge just before Esme started school. Her mum sought a referral to speech and language therapists who helped treat Esme’s language disorder. When Esme then began to show signs of falling behind at school, her mother employed a private tutor to help with her learning, changing from one tutor to another to find the one that worked best with Esme.
It was when Esme was 8 years old that her mum sought help from Tozers, as she wondered whether her daughter’s subtle difficulties might be related to the problems Esme had when being born. After the right team of birth injury professionals were brought on board, a claim was investigated on Esme’s behalf which eventually led to an admission of liability by the hospital trust where Esme was born.
The investigations confirmed that whilst the therapeutic hypothermia had spared Esme from a devastating severe cerebral palsy injury, she had a complex cognitive impairment which had a profound impact on her speech and language, her memory and her ability to learn. An interim payment was obtained so that Esme could have a case manager and treating therapists could be employed to help with speech and language therapy, psychological therapy, educational psychology and occupational therapy during her adolescence. The team brought together as a result of the claim have also challenged Esme’s Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP) so Esme can have more assistance at school.
Thanks to her legal claim, Esme is getting the help she needs to manage her cognitive impairment at a crucial point in her brain’s development. Nonetheless, it remains to be seen how the after effects of her initial brain injury will be expressed as Esme navigates the challenging period of adolescence. During adolescence Esme must learn skills like planning, prioritizing, and making good decisions. She must also learn now to take risks and to socialise independently of her family, maintaining existing relationships and making new ones safely. All this will be happening whilst Esme considers what subjects (if any at all) to study for GCSEs and what she might like to do as a future job.
For Esme’s mum, one of the biggest reliefs from starting the claim for her daughter came when her solicitor assured her at the outset that her daughter’s problems were real and not “all in her mind”. Although she has found it distressing to realise the extent of Esme’s problems, Esme’s mum has been reassured by working with the right professionals that Esme will be supported in her day to day activities and through her education to reach her potential. The family feel less overwhelmed by the consequences of Esme’s unusual brain injury and know that the legal claim will result in compensation which will try to put Esme in the same position she would have been in, had she not sustained HIE during her birth.
For help and support for families supporting those with HIE click here
For information about bringing a legal claim click here