A mother will give birth to her baby twice to save his life.
Jaiden Ashlea, who gave birth to her son Levi James last Wednesday, is expected to have another child with him in July.
Everything is a part of a complex scheme to save the life of the infant.
A prenatal anatomy scan performed on the pregnant woman, 23, in March at 18 weeks of gestation revealed that her unborn child had spina bifida, a congenital defect that adversely affects a fetus’ spinal cord during pregnancy and can result in learning and developmental disabilities as well as paralysis.
The CDC estimates that 1,427 infants are born with spina bifida every year.
“I was stunned. When the doctor told us this, I was unable to even talk, Ashlea, who works in both real estate and digital content development, recounted.
She and her fiancé, Noah Detrick, 23, were initially informed by medical professionals in her hometown of Jacksonville, Florida, that their first child would be born “brain dead” and would have no hope of living a life of quality.
Ashlea recalled thinking to herself, “This isn’t real, this isn’t happening,” and the doctors had advised her to end the pregnancy. An absolute horror,
However, Ashlea discovered that there was hope for her kid after obtaining second and third opinions from physicians in Orlando, which is located just over two hours away from her house. While he was still a fetus, she might undergo a cutting-edge procedure to fix his spine.
Before being permitted to have surgery at Orlando’s Winnie Palmer Hospital, she completed a battery of medical tests. Only a small number of expectant moms and their infants are determined to be healthy enough to undergo the invasive procedure each year.
One of just 12 hospitals in the nation that performs fetal procedures, Ashlea was the 31st mother to ever have the procedure there. These operations generally cost more than $25,000, but Ashlea’s insurance covered hers.
About six weeks after receiving the unsettling diagnosis, Ashlea underwent surgery. Her water was broken during a cesarean procedure, and the large lesion, or malformation, afflicting the baby’s L2 vertebrae, was effectively corrected.
When the infant will be mature enough for a real C-section delivery at 37 weeks, they will reposition the child within Ashlea’s tummy, sew her up, and order rigorous bed rest. Complete anesthesia was used for the procedure, which lasted around six hours. About 27 weeks along, Ashlea has noticed her unborn child’s health has improved.
She stated that since the operation, “doctors have noticed so much more movement and indicators of any deformity in his brain are reversing,” and that they now anticipate her baby to have almost no trouble walking.
Nevertheless, he will probably require physical therapy from birth until he is at least 18 years old. However, his post-operative development has been encouraging.
The expectant mother gushed, “He’s kicking his legs and twisting his ankles in there.” “I feel him moving,” you say.
In a popular TikTok video with the description “Birthing my kid for him to be placed back in and 11 weeks later be born again,” Ashlea first revealed her experience.
Over 2.2 million people have viewed the post, which features the popular “Oh my God, she’s insane” audio clip from Taylor Swift’s smash song “I Bet You Think About Me.”
She will leave the hospital early the next week and continue her recuperation in a Ronald McDonald House in Orlando, which is a part of a national charity organization that offers medical care to underprivileged families and children. She will then make her way back to Jacksonville where she will give birth.
She looks forward to telling Levi James about his journey to save lives one day.
Ashlea stated, “I’m eager for him to understand how many people were rooting for him and how loved and amazing he is. “This operation is not available to everyone. And I want him to understand that God was with him.
