When first-time mother Kimberley James said, “We had a very rocky start to our pregnancy,” it might qualify as quite an understatement. Four times she was told abortion would be the best option. But each time, she and her husband Nick said “no,” and now they are the parents of a miracle baby.
Why the lethal advice? Kimberly’s unborn baby girl was diagnosed with two potentially lethal conditions: hydrops fetalis (severe swelling due to an abnormal level of fluids) and cystic hygroma (a fluid-filled sac, usually found in the area of the baby’s neck).
After the diagnoses, it wasn’t just the doctors advising abortion, so did many of their friends, and quite forcefully.
Instead of aborting, the James’ decided to pay to have private scans and blood tests, saying, “We were determined to go ahead with the pregnancy.”
On May 9, Kimberley and Nick welcomed 7lb 6oz Penelope into the world. The doctors were stunned and mystified.
As for Penelope…she defied all the odds and the hydrops disappeared at 16 weeks and the cystic hygroma disappeared after 20 weeks.
Kimberley said, “The doctors all said it was unheard of for the hydrops to disappear and we still to this day don’t know what caused it or why it went away.”
That’s why she calls Penelope, “a little miracle.”