Who would have thought that blowing raspberries could save someone’s life? Doctors were baffled at this ordinary act that caused a life-saving miracle between two sisters.
Poppy Smith was a premature baby when she was diagnosed with Moebius Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder which causes paralysis on cranial nerves.
One evening, two days before her second birthday in December of 2016, Poppy’s parents found her gasping for air while she was asleep. They immediately brought her to the hospital where she was put in the ICU. She suffered from Hypoxic Brain Damage and had slim chances of surviving. Doctors told her parents that if she did survive, she would have developmental problems. Poppy was unresponsive until Christmas day when her family joined her in the ICU.
While there, her older sister 12-year old Macey blew a raspberry on her tummy and Poppy responded by giggling!
“It was astonishing. We found out afterwards that it wasn’t uncommon for people in this state to show emotion, but to us it seemed like she was responding. Then there were little twitches on her arms and legs. Doctors said it could be spinal reflexes, but I felt like it was so much more,” said Poppy’s dad Stephen.
