“They said as soon as their little hearts stopped beating, they would turn off the gadgets and I would be able to bury my wife.” But the twin hearts never stopped beating.
Miracles never cease, do they?
Pregnant mum suffers stroke
Brazilian dad Muriel Padilha, 24, was on his way to work one day, when he got a call from his wife, Frankielen da Silva Zampoli Padilha. Frankielen, mummy of a 2-year-old and 9 weeks pregnant then, with twins, was feeling rather unwell that day.
She begged Muriel to come back home, because her head was hurting badly, and there was a sharp pain at the back of her neck as well. She felt like she was going to collapse.
Muriel rushed back home to find his wife shaking, crying, dizzy and vomiting from the pain.
The New York Post quotes Muriel as saying, “As I drove her to the hospital she said, ‘I want you to be prepared to accept this because I will be staying there, I won’t be coming home.'”
PHOTO: CATERS NEWS AGENCY
Sadly, those were the last words she spoke. Muriel never again saw her alive.
She had suffered cerebral haemorrhage – a vein had burst inside her head and she had arrived at the hospital with severe bleeding in the brain.
After 3 days of intensive tests, doctors declared the young mum brain dead, and warned Muriel that there was no hope for the twins.
Doctors make ground-breaking decision
In Muriel’s words, “They said as soon as their little hearts stopped beating, they would turn off the gadgets and I would be able to bury my wife.”
But wonder of wonders, the little hearts kept beating! It was then that, the noble doctors made the unheard of decision to try and save the babies. They made sure that mummy Frankielen’s body didn’t shut down. They monitored her, administered medications, and measured her blood pressure and blood flow. The twins were checked by ultrasound every day.
PHOTO: CATERS NEWS AGENCY
Dr. Dalton Rivabem, the head of the Neurological ICU at Nosso Senhora do Rocio hospital in South Brazil, has been quoted as saying, “Frankielen’s organs were all intact and working as if she was still with us. We took the decision to keep her alive to save her unborn children…One of our main concerns was to keep the organ functions continual for the babies to grow and develop.”
“There were many complications with continuous support of medications to maintain pressure, maintain oxygenation, maintain continuous nutrition and hormonal balance. We used antibiotics during the entire hospitalisation period.”
“And every day we watched them grow normally. “
And that’s not all, health care professionals went the extra mile by gently caressing the mummy’s belly, even singing and talking to the babies inside, just so they wouldn’t miss out on mummy’s love and affection! They said “We love you” every day…
And they did all this for a whopping 4 months, that is, 123 days to be precise!
Miracle twins born to brain dead mum
The babies were finally born premature at 7 months through C-section delivery. Everyone in hospital apparently cried when they saw the little angels.
Ana Vitoria was born weighing 1.4 kg, while her brother, Asaph weighed 1.3 kg. Their weights were comparable to other premature babies of the same age.
PHOTO: CATERS NEWS AGENCY
The mummy sadly did not survive. After the ventilator was switched off, her heart and kidneys were donated to save the lives of two others.
In a heartwarming gesture, people across the country raised thousands of dollars to support the family, and donated clothing and toys to the babies.
The newborns were kept in incubators for three months for intensive monitoring, and were finally discharged in May. They are now being looked after by their maternal grandmother.
Daddy Muriel is grateful for the miracle, “Frankielen was a generous and loving person. I believe God chose her for this purpose so a miracle could happen.”
While we feel sad that these babies will never get to see their mummy, this story is also all about hope in the midst of pain and suffering. Here’s wishing these little angels good health and happiness!
Also READ: Tragedy as pregnant mum dies in Singapore accident, baby survives!
(Source: New York Post, Mirror)