Couple refuses to abort unborn baby diagnosed with severe heart defect

A couple whose unborn baby was diagnosed with a severe heart defect refused doctor’s advice to have an abortion and are now waiting for a heart transplant for their daughter.

At 20 weeks, just before Christmas last year, doctors told parents Rachel Boddle and Tom Butler that their unborn daughter had only half a heart.

Rachel wrote about that day on Facebook, “The sonographer told me I was having a little GIRL. I was over the moon! She had a good look at my baby, she said she was laying in a good position but for some reason she couldn’t see the heart very well. She said she was going to get another sonographer to have a look, I said OK..not thinking anything of it and still so happy that I was having a girl. The next lady came in, she looked at the screen, the atmosphere in the room changed that instant, she put her hand on me and said ‘I’m sorry’ Sorry for what I thought? I still didn’t think anything could possibly be wrong with my perfect baby, “There is a problem with your baby’s heart” she said.”

In an interview with The Scarborough News the 25-year-old mother said that doctors told her the baby probably wouldn’t survive and they were offered a termination of pregnancy.

The couple made the decision to keep their baby with Rachel writing this about the decision, “A termination was out of the question for me….We had already made our decision, our baby deserved every chance to live and we were prepared to fight..no matter what.”

Their little girl, Willow Mireyah which means miracle in Spanish, was born in April.

Her parents wrote this post on Willow’s Facebook page after her birth:

“She was lying there covered in wires and tubes, she was fast asleep looking so peaceful while the cardiologist scanned her little heart.

He told us she had Trisupid Atresia and Pulmonary Atresia (Like we already knew) But he also could see something else, something wrong with her arteries, he said they would need to do more tests. We both got to cuddle her, which was so arkward with the wires, I was so nervous, intensive care is overwhelming with all the machines bleeping, but she was so peaceful. And so beautiful.”

Rachel added: “We were able to bring her home at two weeks and now, 10 weeks later, she is a beautiful pink baby girl.

“She is a bit more tired than other babies and a nurse comes once a week to check on her and then we go to the hospital every fortnight so she can be looked over.

“She is our miracle baby. The doctor told us it was the worst case of heart defects he had ever seen but here she is, still fighting.”

A post this month describes what Willow’s parents face as they await her transplant, “here we are 6th July 2015 officially waiting for a new heart! The doctor at London told us this could happen at any time day or night! And most probably night, so we need to keep our phones on and loud all the time! We need to keep bags packed ready to go as soon as we get that call! But we also need to live life as normal! Whatever normal is!”

Above a picture posted in early May, Willow’s mother writes, “Some People Never Get To Meet Their Hero. I Gave Birth To Mine.”

Images used from the Willow The Heart Warrior Princess Facebook page.