“Mami, will you marry my dad?”

 

He’s only 12 weeks old, but already he’s unwittingly been involved in one of the most significant events in his parent’s life, second only to his birth: their engagement. 

The Melton baby boy was born almost six weeks too soon after his mother Madysun Davis-Kellett developed a potentially life-threatening condition. 

“The whole pregnancy had been fine,” Madysun said. 

“I had no morning sickness or anything like that, but I was monitoring my blood pressure at home and one day I noticed that it had gone up to 145/108 and I had some swelling, but I put that down to the fact that I was still working and standing on my feet all day. 

“I called my midwife and she told me to come in and get checked out.” 

Madysun had developed pre-eclampsia. 

One in ten pregnancies are impacted by the illness, characterised by high blood, swelling in the face, hands and feet, and protein in the urine. 

The illness can cause circulation problems, affecting the blood supply to the placenta and limit the baby’s supply of nutrients and oxygen, reducing the baby’s ability to grow.  

Sometimes it leads to babies being delivered earlier than anticipated, like Alijah, who was born at 34 week and six days at Joan Kirner Women’s and Children’s at Sunshine Hospital. 

He weighed just 2.19kg, below the Australian average of between 2.5kg-4.9kg. 

“They put him on a feeding tube through his nose to help him put on weight, because although he could latch on to breastfeed, he was small and would fall asleep after a few minutes,” she said. 

“He also had jaundice, so he had to be put under blue light for two days.” 

Alija was transferred to Bacchus Marsh Maternity Unit to be cared for in their Special Care Nursery. 

“We live in Melton, so it was closer to home and I stayed a few nights and then we went in to visit him every day for 17 days that he was in there.” 

One night, after Madysun and her husband Dani Marvoic went out for their first dinner since their son was born, they decided to drop into the hospital to see Alija. 

Little did Madysun know, but Dani had been secretly planning the proposal with Registered Nurse and Registered Midwife Amanda Angelevski who was on the evening shift. 

He brought in rose petals and a big bunch of flowers a little handwritten sign to be placed on Allija’s cot that read: “Mami will you marry my dad?”.” 

“I organised for him to call us before he arrived to check on Allija, which was code for they were on their way into the hospital and we arranged the flowers and sign to be set up,” Mrs Angelevski said. 

Madysun had no idea what was about to occur when they arrived at the hospital. 

“I remember that we came in to see him the curtains were closed around his bed, which they only usually do when they are doing a procedure,” Madysun said. 

“I tried not to worry, as I washed my hands.” 

“When I pulled back the curtain, the first thing I saw was flower petals and flowers everywhere and then I saw the little sign on Alija’s cot asking me to marry his dad.” 

She turned around and Danni was on one knee with a ring box. 

“Will you marry me?” he asked her. 

Madysun was incredibly surprised and knew instantly what her answer would be: “Yes!” 

Mrs Angelevski said she had never been part of a marriage proposal in the Special Care Nursery. 

“I feel privileged to have been involved in such joy and love,” she said. 

“Mum had been in the nursery that day and Allija was putting on weight and getting ready to go home, so it topped off a perfect day.” 

Alija has since returned home where he is being cared for by his family. He continues to gain weight, waiting for his chance to be part of the next special occasion: his parent’s wedding day. 

Find out more about pre-eclampsia on the Better Health website.