Thread:
A year ago yesterday, my little sister found out (on her birthday) that her unborn child had an incredibly rare complication in the womb. The baby had an amniotic band wrapped around her leg, choking off the blood flow to the rest of the leg and close to amputation.
A year ago yesterday, my little sister found out (on her birthday) that her unborn child had an incredibly rare complication in the womb. The baby had an amniotic band wrapped around her leg, choking off the blood flow to the rest of the leg and close to amputation.
Typically, w amniotic band tangles, the limb would already be gone by the time doctors found the complication. My sister’s doctors told her there was nothing she could do; the baby would be born without a leg and they advised her to abort.
My sister never once entertained the idea of abortion. Mind you, this was an unplanned pregnancy; she was handling all this alone from the day she found out she was pregnant. My family quickly researched everything we could on the complication and called every top hospital.
We ended up at Columbia for an emergency surgery attempting to laser off the band and save the leg/cut other hanging bands that could potentially damage the child, i.e. wrap around her neck.
It did not come without risk – the baby was not yet viable – but was considered the best option because of all the surrounding circumstances. Our family prayed, our loved ones prayed, my father arranged for our church to dedicate masses to my sister and the baby.
When we arrived at Columbia, my sister was strongminded but still in shock. Though she was told the baby would not survive if there were complications and she went into early labor, I remember her packing a bag full of baby clothes the night before.
I remember gently asking her why she was doing this, and she told me, “just in case I go into labor, the baby needs clothes.” I nodded along. After a restless night in NYC, we go to the surgeons’ office and first have an ultrasound.
. My sister, myself, and my father are all in the room looking at images of what appears to be a healthy baby. No one is speaking. The doctor will not tell us anything. At least four other doctors come in, again avoiding our hesitant questions.
Finally, the doctors inform us that they have no idea how it happened, but the baby is perfectly healthy. Her legs are now identical in size. The band is gone. She’s kicking nonstop. There is not a trace of damage.
“Even if I wanted to perform surgery on her, there is nothing here to be done. This baby is perfect,” I remember a doctor telling us.
My niece is now thriving, a healthy and happy joy. She has superficial marks on her leg from where the band once was, but there is no nerve or muscle damage. My sister, though younger, is the strongest little girl I know. And as she’s simply put it, God is good.
