Baby Faith
Every once in a while you stumble across a story that leaves you speechless, and this, for me, is one of those stories. Meet Myah and her now 11 week old baby girl Faith.
My name is Myah. I'm 23 years old and a single mom to a very special little girl.
When I was 19 weeks pregnant, I was told that my baby had no brain. This condition is known as "anencephaly." I was told that my baby was only alive because she was attached to me, but that she couldn't survive on her own. The doctor said that I could continue the pregnancy safely, but that my baby would die shortly after being born. Or I could choose to terminate the pregnancy then, which would mean being induced at 20 weeks and letting my baby die without ever seeing or holding her (I don't even want to know what they do with babies in this case). Well, to some people this would be a difficult decision, but it wasn't for me. I knew there was nothing to gain by terminating the pregnancy and I already loved my daughter more than anyone else in the world. Even if she was unconscious like the doctors said and lived for only a few seconds or minutes --even if she was stillborn --it was worth it to me. And so we began our journey...
Today, as I type this, Faith is 10 weeks old (+ 1 day) and thriving! She is totally conscious and is as responsive as any "normal" baby. She is very sensitive to touch (especially when it's cold!) and can definitely hear. She smiles, cooes, cries, and is a feisty little girl ;) She knows what she likes and dislikes and she'll let you know --she has her own little personality that we just can't get enough of. We have been shocked by her development... from day 1 she was smiling and saying baby words ("boo" "gee" "happen"... yeah). She could lift her own head from birth and when she sat up on her own at 5 days old, needless to say, we were amazed :)
Now... because Faith was clearly conscious and doing very well, a CAT scan was ordered to make sure her diagnosis was correct. A neuro-surgeon, radiologist, and neuro-radio-interventionologist reviewed the photos and all agreed that, amazingly, Faith did in fact have anencephaly. They have no explanation as to how Faith is even alive and breathing, let alone functioning on a conscious level! There are just some things doctors can't explain ;)
I hope that by sharing our story, we can shed some light on this condition we call "anencephaly." It may seem all doom and gloom if you get this diagnosis, but trust me... there is more hope and joy in store than you could ever imagine. I know that first-hand! You can read all the text books and medical journals you want, but this is REAL life. And this is real love. I love my daughter just the way God made her... she is a gift and a miracle.
Myah
What you just read is a miracle. Faith is missing the largest portion of her brain and yet she has lived as of now eleven weeks when doctors initially gave her zero chance of survival. Things like this confound human reasoning. Should Faith or any other child be violently killed inside or outside of their mother's womb because the doctors say there is something wrong with them? After reading this I hope you would agree with me and say "Absolutely Not!".
Myah has been keeping a regularly updated blog documenting Faith's progress. Check it out if you want to see pictures, videos, and read more about their day to day happenings.
