A heartbroken pregnant mum-to-be has revealed she is having to plan her unborn son’s funeral after learning he has a rare birth defect.
Devastated Nicole Gaunt is due to give birth to her baby in a week, but was given the heartbreaking news that he has a condition called Anencephaly.
This means he is missing a major portion of his brain, skull and scalp.
Nicole, 19, told the Daily Record that she and partner Jordan Garvie, 22, were told their child could not be treated.
Nicole, from Cambuslang, Scotland, said: “We had an early scan at 8 weeks but everything seemed fine. I had no idea anything was wrong.
“During our 12 week scan, the doctor left the room and we didn’t know what was happening. Then another doctor came in and scanned me in silence. We were so scared.
After a while he told me that my baby’s head wasn’t forming properly. He explained what Anencephaly was and told us there was no cure or treatment. Our hearts sank. I just burst into tears.”
Anencephaly is a cephalic disorder resulting from a neural defect. It occurs during embryonic development, typically between the 23rd and 26th day following conception and affects the development of the baby’s head.
Babies born with Anencephaly are usually blind, deaf and unaware of their surroundings. There is no cure or treatment for the condition. Most infants do not survive birth and those who are not stillborn usually die within a few hours or days from cardiorespiratory arrest.
Nicole and Jordan were given the option of terminating their baby, who they have already named JJ, but the couple knew instantly that they wanted to continue with the pregnancy.
Nicole said: “We were already so in love with him. He was still fighting, so we felt we had to too. We just wanted to give him a chance and cherish every moment we have with him.”
JJ is due to be born on the May 15, but the young couple admit they do not know how long their son will survive.
Heartbroken Nicole said: “We just don’t have a clue what will happen. We don’t know if he will live for days, hours, or even only minutes.
“We will just have to see how long he fights for.”
The couple have arranged for JJ to receive end of life care at Robin House hospice in Balloch, but Nicole reveals she and Jordan are also having plan something no parents should ever have to – their child’s funeral.
And now the brave mum has set up a JustGiving page to appeal for funding to help the family pay for their baby boy’s burial plot and headstone.
Source: Mirror
