/ 5 March 2010

Baby Ashleigh dies

Baby Ashleigh Louw died on Friday, Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital clinical manager Dr Pungie Lingham said.

“Sadly, she has passed on,” he said. “Our condolences go out to the family.”

He said she died at about midday but could not reveal the cause of death for privacy reasons.

“Baby Ashleigh was very ill and she’s been in ICU [intensive-care unit] under very intense management, both medically and otherwise,” said Lingham.

Born on January 9, Ashleigh was operated on January 17 after being born with her heart outside her chest, covered only by a thin layer of skin.

The condition is known as Pentallogy of Cantrell, which occurs in one in a million babies. — Sapa