For Stacey
Herald, who is just 2ft 4ins, choosing to be a mum was an extremely big risk as
doctors warned the baby could grow too big and crush her lungs and heart,
killing her. However, she’s defied doctors to have three children, and having
more babies may be in the pipeline.
The
35-year-old from Dry Ridge, Kentucky, USA, suffers from a rare genetic
condition, Osteogenesis Imperfecta, which stunts her growth and causes
underdeveloped lungs and brittle bones. She uses a wheelchair, and her husband,
Will, who is 5ft 9ins and in charge of enforcing discipline as Stacey cannot
physically handle the kids, shares her dream of having more kids.
Stacey said:
“Three children is a handful at the moment, but I can see us having more babies
in the future. We listen to doctors and respect them, but they don’t always get
it right, so we end up doing what we feel is best.”
Stacey
couldn’t hold her babies as her belly gets in the way, and has to rely on her
husband, Will, to do most things around the house.
She admits
being pregnant is “uncomfortable” and leaves her bedridden for weeks on end.
But despite all the obstacles, Mrs Herald and her husband, a trainee priest,
are proud to be parents.
The couple
met in 2000 while working for a supermarket in their home town and were
desperate for a family after marrying in 2004.
“It broke my
heart that I couldn’t have kids. All my life my parents had told me that I
could do anything. Then there were these doctors telling me that we couldn’t be
a complete family. It really hurt.”
Eight months
later, the couple were thrilled when they discovered Mrs Herald was pregnant
and decided to go ahead even though family and doctors begged them to
reconsider.
“They all
told me that I would die. They begged me not to have a baby. Even my mother
said,’ You know you won’t survive right?’ I told her: ‘It’s a miracle that I am
here, that I have life, why couldn’t this be a miracle too?'”
After 28
weeks, doctors performed a cesarean section and daughter Kateri was born,
weighing just 2lbs and 1oz in 2006.
She grew
well but there was heartbreak for the family when they discovered Kateri had
inherited Mrs Herald’s condition and would also never grow to a normal height.
But the
young family resumed life as normal, Mrs
Herald became pregnant a year later.
“It was kind
of like the last time, everyone screamed: ‘What are you doing?’ at us,” she
said.
“The doctors
told me I was pushing my luck. But we just prayed that God would bring us
through it.”
She admits
the second pregnancy took its toll, saying: “It was hard, I got so much bigger
faster. At my worst point I remember bursting into tears, because I looked like
a beach ball with a head and little feet.”
Doctors
tried to let the second baby stay in Mrs Herald’s body for as long as possible,
letting her pregnancy go to 34 weeks before taking her into theatre.
Daughter
Makaya who, at 18 inches was more than half her mum’s body length when she was
born, weighed 4lbs and 7oz.
Her third
child, a boy, Malachi, was born by a rare vertical caesarian in November 2010.
“Malachi was
born without any broken bones,” said Mrs Herald. “People with our condition are
often born with broken arms and legs because our bones are fragile and can be
damaged by the birth.”
But Malachi,
who was five inches and 2lb 1oz, had to be placed into an incubator in
intensive care.
At 17 days
old, he fell seriously ill with a virus and then at four weeks he suffered a
life-threatening hernia and had emergency surgery.
“At one
point they told us his heart had stopped and we thought he might not survive,”
said Mrs Herald. “But thankfully the doctors managed to save him. It felt like
a miracle to us.” Mrs Herald added:
“All my babies are miracles…they’re a great gift to the world, and when I look
at them I see Will and I feel so full of love, it’s tough not to want more.”
Source:
Telegraph UK
