Peterborough mother makes plea for help to transport seriously ill baby daughter back to UK for treatment

Barbara Davidova was seven months pregnant when she made the decision to make a short trip to see her 85-year-old grandfather in Slovakia

She was keen to reunite with him and a number of cousins she has that also live in the country after spending so long apart.

Thinking she had plenty of time before she was due to give birth, she was confident she would be able to make the trip.

On the day she was due to fly back to the UK, however, her labour pains began at around 3am in the morning. By the time her flight was due to take-off, her new baby daughter, Barbara, had already been born.

There were complications though and Barbara had to be rushed to the Neonatal intensive care to be placed on a ventilator.

Further testing revealed that she had Polycystic kidney disease. The inherited disorder causes clusters of cysts to develop on the kidneys, causing them to enlarge and lose function over time.

After just a few days, both of her kidneys had failed to work and she was put on haemodialysis. The family were warned that this type of dialysis is a major risk for babies, especially preterm ones, and were told to expect that she may not survive,

A few days later, Barbara went in for nephrectomy (kidney removal surgery) and also had a peritoneal catheter placed into her abdomen to help with further dialysis.

Barbara was all set to have her final surgery in the last week but this had to be delayed due to complications caused by the Polycystic Kidney disease and doctors in Slovakia are unsure how the condition is going to develop in the future.

It is believed that Barbara is the first baby to be born with the condition in the Central European country.

For this reason, Barbara is trying to raise £50,000 to have her daughter transported to Great Ormond Street in London, where the doctors have far greater experience treating children with a range of conditions.

Barbara said: “I am kindly asking for help. Please help us to raise money for our miracle daughter to get her back home to the UK, so that she could be treated at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, as we know that she will get all the help possible there.

“As far as we know, Great Ormond Street Hospital has dealt with this disease, whereas in Slovakia she’s the first baby with Polycystic kidney disease, and in Slovakia there is nothing more they can do to save our baby.

“We as parents want the best for our daughter and we know that there is hope for our baby girl at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

“We want our precious daughter to live and we know she wants a chance for a life too, just seeing all the obstacles she has overcame, just to be with her mum and daddy, makes us believe Barbara wants to be on this earth with us.

“Barbara has been fighting ever since she was born and we as a parents need to support her on this journey and give her the opportunity to live.

“So please help Barbara by donating so we can pay for the air ambulance to get her back home, so she can get all the necessary help she needs, so that she can live, and enjoy life as any other child.

“This is the last resort to help our daughter, we have never asked for money before but we are desperate to save our princess. Please help us to be together.”

To visit the fundraising page set up to help Barbara, go to www.gofundme.com/f/please-safe-our-baby-barbara.