Baby with rare Transient Neonatal Diabetes leaves QA Hospital as mum thanks staff for their care

Cara Hallissey was born in April this year where it was discovered she had Transient Neonatal Diabetes, caused by a change in a gene which affects insulin production. Shortly after Cara’s birth at Queen Alexandra Hospital, she was rushed to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit due to low temperatures and an unusually high blood sugar.

As both parents have diabetes, staff sent off blood tests to Exeter Clinical Laboratory where it was confirmed Cara had the rare disease. Cara’s mum, Marie, 30, has lauded the treatment her daughter received at the hospital after being able to take her home after seven weeks.

Marie said: “I can’t thank the staff at QA Hospital enough. They made sure everything was ready for us to go home and I’m so grateful for everything they’ve done for us during this tough time.

“Everyone was amazing. From the Neonatal Intensive Care Team to the Diabetes Team to the Paediatric Department, I have never known such consistently decent staff. The care and compassion was always there and I could have a laugh with them which made a big difference.

 “There’s a lot of poorly babies here and I don’t think staff realise how much of a lifeline they are to parents. It’s heart-breaking to see all the ill babies in NICU but the team are so on it and absolutely wonderful. I was reassured to leave my baby in their care. I trusted them completely.” Less than a 100 people are currently diagnosed with it in the UK. While it is often resolved between three and 18 months old there is a 50 per cent chance that it will return later in a patients life, usually during their teenage years.

The circumstances provided staff with a unique challenge that they had not faced before. Julia Hamilton, Paediatric Diabetes Nurse at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, said: “It was a pleasure to work with Cara and her parents. This was a first for the Paediatric Diabetes Team, as we had never before used an insulin pump on a baby as young or small as little Cara.

“It took a lot of thought and planning, but it was felt that this would be the safest way to deliver the required insulin for Cara. We were thrilled that it allowed mum and dad to take Cara off the ward for the very first time and show off their gorgeous new baby (even if initially it was only to the hospital's Costa). We are thrilled that she is now doing so well, at home with mum and dad.”