All we want for our kids is for them to be safe and healthy throughout their lives. And that means more than anything from the moment they come out of the womb.
But for one family, they've had to watch their child fight for survival from that very point. As reported by People, their baby was delivered following an emergency C-section.
Doctors told young parents, 17-year-old Demi and 19-year-old Charlie, that Luca had got gastrochisis. They'd known since their 3-month scan, so there were bound to be some complications.
The condition affects the abdominal wall - Luca had his organs poking through his abdomen. But when Demi reported to doctors that Luca had stopped moving in the womb, they realised something was gravely wrong.
Doctors delivered him through a C-section, where he weighed only 3 lbs, 5 oz. And, they immediately got to work trying to restore his heartbeat.
Charlie said, "Seeing him born dead was so hard. It's the longest hour I've ever been through", in reference to the surgery. "But thank God the hospital brought him back to life."
The original surgery took an hour - but he ended up needing more than that.
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Luca Needed Another Surgery or Two
It was at that moment it was decided Luca needed to be transported to a hospital that could do more for him.
Charlie accompanied his son to The Royal London Hospital, where he could have more surgeries. But Demi, against doctor's orders, discharged herself to join the two.
"There was nothing stopping me from being with my Luca," she said. Charlie recalled, "She was waddling toward me like a penguin... When she got up to Luca, her face instantly lit back up. It was like she didn't just have surgery."
Luca ended up needing to have two more surgeries at the hospital. It took several weeks for his parents to be allowed to hold their son - something that most parents get to do much, much sooner.
"Me and Demi got to hold him the other day and got to do skin-to-skin contact for the first time," Charlie explained. "That was amazing. It was quite literally like holding my world in my hands."
Our thoughts and well wishes go out to the couple and their baby!
