Michaela Gauchè, the tiny baby who was born three months too soon, drew her last breath in Leratong Hospital during the weekend.
Baby Michaela was rushed to the Dr Yusuf Dadoo Hospital on 2 July, suffering from meningitis and pneumonia. She was subsequently transferred to Leratong, where she was placed in a incubator and was treated in the neonatal intensive care unit.
Sadly, the little fighter’s condition deteriorated, and Michaela passed away on 30 July at 9am. Besides the meningitis and pneumonia, doctors discovered she had an infection on the one side of her brain and a hole in her heart.
Facebook was flooded with prayer messages from concerned family and friends urging the community to keep the little miracle baby in their thoughts and prayers.
“Baby Michaela passed away after blood from her heart allegedly went into her lungs,” a devastated family member, Mushka Heymans, told the News.
Michaela was born on 27 March, and weighed a mere 2,1kgs at the age of four months.
“Tomorrow, she would have been in hospital for a month. I console myself that she is in a better place now,” said a family member.
With the help of pastor Marc Coetzee, the funeral arrangements are under way. The family will lay the little fighter to rest on 5 August at a church in Pinehaven.
A family spokesperson said, “Thank you to each and every person who reached out to us, this is a very difficult time for the whole family.”
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