Doctors gave Eli less than 1% chance of survival
Lifenews reported that Doctors told Courtney Mitchell that her unborn son would mostly be born disabled or die, and gave the recommendation that he be aborted immediately.
Mitchell's doctor found strange pockets of fluid in her placenta when she went for her 20-week ultrasound. After a high-risk ultrasound the next day, doctors told the couple, Courtney and Chris that Eli had genetic problems and will probably not make it outside the womb.
The doctors warned that Courtney's life was in danger as well.
The mum commented that the doctors "said this was a partial molar pregnancy and that continuing in this pregnancy would be a severe risk to my life."
“They recommended an immediate abortion”
Courtney was told that she had cancer in her placenta that could easily spread to other organs, such as her liver, lungs and brains. This carries the risk of seizures, blindness and even death. She was cautioned that these risks are exacerbated the longer she carried her unborn child.
Despite this diagnosis, Courtney refused to abort her child
The journey towards childbirth was not an easy one. Courtney mentioned that she went to appointments with the doctor 3 times a week, and had to spend several days in the hospital. Throughout all this, the medical staff monitored Courtney closely as her pregnancy progressed. The treatments pulled Courtney away from her husband as well as her older son, Rhett.
In her blog, Courtney wrote that "all I could think of was, ‘I’m never going to get to see my two boys playing on my living room rug together.’ It was an image I couldn’t stop thinking about”.
The couple hoped that Eli's birth would be delayed till he was 24-week-old as babies at that age have a good chance of surviving outside the womb. The couple got their wish as Courtney gave birth at 30 weeks.
"I went into the hospital one night because I was feeling strange, on March 31, and all of my labs came back normal but they said that Eli’s heart rate was dropping. So the next morning, on April Fools Day, they delivered him via C-section."
At the time of birth, Eli weighed 1.1 kg. Despite previous misgivings, Eli was born healthy, with his genetic tests all coming back normal
Eli spent 55 days in the neonatal intensive care unit before heading home.
He is doing well now as an 8-month-old baby. In a recent Facebook page, the family posts photos to share the journey of their new child.
“He is all smiles and is one of the sweetest babies”.
Tell us what you think of this brave child below!
