Cornflour Girl's Miracle I'm Having A Baby!
Woman’s Day Magazine NZ|February 24 2020
She’s beaten the odds in more ways than one
Carmen Lichi
Cornflour Girl's Miracle I'm Having A Baby!

Looking down at her burgeoning baby bump, Ashleigh Lilley can’t help but beam.

“I just never, ever thought this would be possible,” says the mum-to-be, tears sparkling in her eyes. “Doctors told me that 2020 would be the year that I might die, and now it’s become the year I’ll give birth!”

In 2015, doctors estimated the Christchurch-born 26year-old had just five years to live. Along with her younger sister Megan, 23, Ashleigh is one of only four people in New Zealand to suffer from the potentially fatal, exceptionally rare condition glycogen storage disease (GSD) type 1B. The sisters’ livers are missing a crucial enzyme that makes and stores fuel from carbohydrates.

In 2016, the year after her bleak prognosis, Ashleigh told Woman’s Day how she and Megan had survived since infancy only due to consuming a concoction of cornflour and lemonade every five hours their entire lives – leading to her being dubbed The Cornflour Girl.

Corn starch is effective because every tablespoon contains nine grams of carbohydrates. When taken raw, it is hard for the body to digest, therefore slowly releasing energy. Missing a dose, which occasionally happened, would throw the girls into a critical condition.

Megan, who has an even more severe form of the disease, had a liver transplant in 2013. In 2018, former nursing student Ashleigh finally had one too.

But while her life expectancy improved, she was still forced to put her studies on hold due to ongoing ill health. Doctors were also very bleak about her chances of conceiving naturally.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة February 24 2020 من Woman’s Day Magazine NZ.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة February 24 2020 من Woman’s Day Magazine NZ.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من WOMAN’S DAY MAGAZINE NZ مشاهدة الكل
TREASURE & TRAUMA
Woman’s Day Magazine New Zealand

TREASURE & TRAUMA

The launch of the new season of Celebrity Treasure Island doubled as an eighth wedding anniversary celebration for contestant Millen Baird and his wife Siobhan Marshall, who came fourth on the show back in 2022.

time-read
1 min  |
August 31, 2024
JUDGE JAY-JAY
Woman’s Day Magazine New Zealand

JUDGE JAY-JAY

Radio diva Jay-Jay Feeney delivers her verdict on your biggest dilemmas

time-read
2 mins  |
August 31, 2024
CASEY'S BABY JOY 'OUR GIRL IS ALREADY SO LOVED'
Woman’s Day Magazine New Zealand

CASEY'S BABY JOY 'OUR GIRL IS ALREADY SO LOVED'

The Te Puke gym owner refused to let a devastating accident stop her from becoming a mother

time-read
3 mins  |
August 31, 2024
DEAD FUNNY! SHOSHANA'S GOING SOLO
Woman’s Day Magazine New Zealand

DEAD FUNNY! SHOSHANA'S GOING SOLO

The Emmy Award-winning writer is starring in a macabre new comedy

time-read
3 mins  |
August 31, 2024
TWO RAW SISTERS BABY MAKES THREE!
Woman’s Day Magazine New Zealand

TWO RAW SISTERS BABY MAKES THREE!

Rosa and Margo have a new cookbook and bundle of joy on the way

time-read
3 mins  |
August 31, 2024
HOME AND AWAY'S NEW MÃORI STAR
Woman’s Day Magazine New Zealand

HOME AND AWAY'S NEW MÃORI STAR

The son of a Kiwi sporting Legend, Cantona Stewart is making waves in Summer Bay

time-read
2 mins  |
August 31, 2024
TV STAR AIDEE 'THE NIGHT I ALMOST DIED'
Woman’s Day Magazine New Zealand

TV STAR AIDEE 'THE NIGHT I ALMOST DIED'

The actress and director opens up about her terrifying ordeal

time-read
3 mins  |
August 31, 2024
CARMEL SEPULONI  I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A FIGHTER!
Woman’s Day Magazine New Zealand

CARMEL SEPULONI I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A FIGHTER!

Our former deputy PM the lessons she's learnt in politics on CTI

time-read
3 mins  |
August 31, 2024
KENNEDY & SOLLY'S ROMANTIC RACE TO THE ALTAR
Woman’s Day Magazine New Zealand

KENNEDY & SOLLY'S ROMANTIC RACE TO THE ALTAR

The Black Ferns co-captain and her rugby star husband organised the ir nuptials in just five days!

time-read
5 mins  |
August 31, 2024
THE BRAD & GEORGE SHOW is back!
Woman’s Day Magazine New Zealand

THE BRAD & GEORGE SHOW is back!

Their lovable bromance is stealing the spotlight in Venice!

time-read
1 min  |
August 31, 2024