OLDHAM, Greater Manchester, England, May 23, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Rebecca Turner was catching a cherished glimpse of her little girl on the ultrasound screen when the technician spotted something alarming. Scarlett, who had been safely hidden away in Rebecca’s belly for 20 weeks, had a dangerous and life-threatening heart defect.
Hypoplastic left heart syndrome had left Scarlett with only half a heart, reports The Sun.
Most pregnant women whose children are diagnosed with a fetal abnormality are presented with the “option to abort.” Physicians often present abortion as the compassionate option over caring for a sick child who, the doctors assure them, will endure too much suffering or die anyway.
Many scared and vulnerable mothers in this situation are convinced to abort. But Rebecca refused.
She was only 20 years old, but she chose instead to provide care for Scarlett.
In June 2012, Scarlett was born and, only days later, survived a seven-and-a-half hour surgery wherein doctors inserted an artificial tube to assist in blood flow to the heart.
In another surgery eight months later, Scarlett’s doctors attached a vein from her neck to her heart. That surgery lasted even longer, clocking in at eight-and-a-half hours. And it was a success.
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More surgeries will follow when Scarlett is older to insure the integrity of the attachment of the vein but, for now, one-year-old Scarlett is thriving and happy at home with her stay-at-home mom.
Although her heart will never fully form, Rebecca says she’ll live a “normal life.”
“When I hold her now I just can’t believe how healthy and happy she is,” Rebecca said. “She’s my miracle baby.”