Even doctors advising you to have a c-section when
you’d planned for a natural birth can be nerve-wracking, and in this day and
age that’s nothing to really be concerned about.
When one woman from England went into labor a few weeks
earlier than expected, she and her husband took a plunge into the unknown.
Little did they know their lives were about to change
forever, and not in the way they’d anticipated …
Emma Newman and her husband Scott Garside already had
three healthy daughters by the time Emma fell pregnant with a fourth. Nothing
in her scans gave reason for alarm, and so the couple busily prepped to welcome
baby number four.
“I was massive,” Emma said, “so we didn’t think there
was anything to be worried about.”
The unexpected
In fact, there was no notion of something being amiss
until Emma went into labor four weeks early.
“They examined me and said I was only 24 weeks pregnant
but I’d already had scans and knew that wasn’t right,” she said.
“I started to panic.”
Doctors told Emma and Scott to expect a premature baby,
only when they did she thought they meant a slightly underweight child.
Baby Charlotte, however, was born weighing just two
pounds, and the girl’s appearance practically stunned her parents.
By a sheer twist of fate, both of Charlotte’s parents
carried the gene for an extremely rare genetic condition known as primordial
dwarfism.
To put into perspective just how uncommon it is, only
200 people are thought to have it … in the entire world. Charlotte’s variety
didn’t even have a name!
Primordial dwarfs are born incredibly small, and don’t
grow much as they age. The result is that they can look like tiny human dolls.
Of course, growing to just three feet tall has hardly
been easy for Charlotte.
Weighing just two pounds at birth, Charlotte’s parents
weren’t even allowed to hold her for days after she was born. She spent her
first 13 weeks of life in the confines of the hospital, with doctors warning
her parents she might not even make it to her first birthday.
Unfortunately, primordial dwarfs commonly suffer from a
multitude of health problems, many of them relating to their unnatural size.
Then, as they increase in age, the risk of dying from a sudden aneurysm remains
high.
It’s extremely rare for a primordial dwarf to survive
their teenage years, but Charlotte’s parents insist she’s a fighter. For her
part, the little girl continues to flourish.
Today, Charlotte is just over two feet tall, and her
sister describes her as being surprisingly tough, all things considered.
“When people first meet her they are afraid she might
break if they touch her – but she’s quite scrappy and doesn’t sit still for a
second,” older sister Chloe explained.
“She loves tearing around the house and being thrown in
the air.”
The future
Instead of fretting about how much time they might have
left with Charlotte, her parents have embraced her uniqueness and enjoy
everyday activities.
“She is such a driven, determined person,” said Emma.
“We’ve stopped thinking about the what-ifs, now we’re
having the best time we can.”
For them, part of the fun of raising Emma is
photographing her besides everyday objects the rest of us think are quite
small. Next to Charlotte, however … well …
Two huge thumbs up to Emma and Scott, and a big
congratulations to Charlotte for making it this far with a smile on her face.
You never know what life is going to throw
at you, but you can always decide how you react to it.
If you feel inspired by Charlotte’s story,
share this article on Facebook and spread some love and joy amongst your
friends and family.
Source : newsner.com