Mum’s 'bubble of pure joy' burst after baby girl diagnosed with Rett syndrome
Mum’s 'bubble of pure joy' burst after baby girl diagnosed with Rett syndrome

A mum has described how her “bubble of pure joy” was cruelly burst when her baby girl was diagnosed with Rett syndrome, a brutal genetic illness causing her to regress.

Lifelong family friends when, in July 2017, former HR manager, Carrie McSwan, 42, and civil ground worker Simon Everitt, 47, admitted their feelings had blossomed into love, she was already a mum, with a grown-up daughter, Ella, 21, and two sons, Jack, 10, and Harry, four.

But it was still a “delightful shock” when, in November, Carrie, of Fareham, Hampshire, discovered she was pregnant – although her happiness was short-lived, as she soon experienced cramping and bleeding and believed she had miscarried.

So, when she complained to her GP of abdominal pains on December 19, 2017, she was further astonished to discover she was still pregnant and had probably miscarried a twin, but one baby had most definitely survived.

Going on to enjoy a smooth pregnancy, before giving birth to 7lb 9oz Lara on July 26, 2018, at Hampshire’s Queen Alexandra Hospital, she said: “Lara did have a bit of a flat head and was given a special helmet to wear for the first few months, but apart from that we were in a bubble of pure joy for the first six months.” But in May 2018, just weeks after fighting a bout of chicken pox, Lara’s loving parents noticed a drastic change in their daughter, who appeared to be visibly regressing.