At 23 weeks, most babies are growing comfortably in the protection of their mother’s womb, but at 23 weeks, one miracle baby was defying the odds and fighting to survive in major abdominal surgery.
Just one week before the abortion cut-off date, UK mom Louise Peters welcomed her extremely premature baby girl, who weighed just 1.3 lbs, to the world. Baby Abiageal was so tiny she couldn’t open her eyes or make any noise, and Louise and her husband David were convinced their daughter wouldn’t make it.
“We agreed to the operation, despite the risks associated with it, as we knew she wouldn’t survive without it,” Louise said. “After she’d gone into theater, Dave and I sat in a room for what was probably the longest three hours of our lives, waiting for the surgical team to tell us the outcome.”
Miraculously, Abiageal survived the operation and became the youngest person to ever survive major abdominal surgery. “When the door opened and one of the surgeons came into the room, we just looked at his face without hearing the words and we knew – she was OK. He was smiling,” Louise said.
“Abiageal is a unique case and we only chose to operate because her chances of survival without surgery were so small,” pediatric surgeon Zahid Mukhtar said. “The fact she survived the operation, and is now doing so well, is fantastic news. We will continue to monitor her closely, but all the signs suggest we should be optimistic about her long-term prognosis.”
“She stayed in intensive care for a while and overcame many more hurdles, but she kept fighting and we are so pleased with how she is doing today,” said Louise. “‘Our baby girl was a fighter. She truly is our little miracle,” David said.
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[Featured image: PA]
Miracle Preemie Born At Just 23 Weeks Survives Risky Surgery is an article from: LifeDaily