Doctors told a pregnant woman that she was having a girl and that the fetus was developing abnormally. They asked when she wanted to terminate the pregnancy.
The child was diagnosed with “skeletal dysplasia” (disorders of bone and cartilage development). “Her bones weren’t growing the way they should, and there was a chance she wouldn’t survive,” the woman recalled. The mother-to-be made the decision to have the baby.
The woman said that usually she is quite withdrawn, but the news of the doctors changed her. She reported her situation on social networks. Users created support groups. The expectant mother began to receive letters from many people: relatives, friends and strangers. She hung the letters on the wall in the house.
A few weeks before the birth, the doctors told her the bad news: Elliana’s chest had not grown enough and there was no space for her lungs. The woman asked if the baby had any hope of surviving. The doctor shook his head in the negative. The unborn girl’s family began to prepare for the funeral.
“I could feel Elliana’s heart beating inside me as we picked out the urn and filled out the paperwork. I remember wanting to stay pregnant forever, to keep my daughter safe. The day she was born, the waiting room was filled with people who love us,” the woman recalled.
She kept a picture of the waiting room where people prayed from 10 a.m. to 5 a.m. the next morning. The photo reminds her of those who helped her during a difficult time in her life.
Finally, Elliana was born and was breathing on her own, contrary to doctors’ predictions. The medics were amazed.
Elliana has grown up and is already going to school. “Our story has a happy ending. But even when it seemed like a tragedy, I never felt alone. I never felt like it was my own personal story. Because in the hardest moments, people shared my burden with me,” the woman wrote.
