A premature baby girl who was born at just 25 weeks gestation with two holes in her heart has finally left the hospital after an incredible 99 days in care.
Lauren Spruill had a complicated medical history and believed that she would never be able to conceive a child naturally. However, while training to be a doctor, Lauren unexpectedly fell pregnant.
“I was just over the moon that I was pregnant, actually really pregnant. I couldn’t believe it”, she said. For Lauren, it was a very pleasant surprise. “I know that one of my callings is to be a mum”, she added.
Unfortunately, though, things did not go smoothly. Difficulties began when she was only 12 week pregnant when Lauren began having abdominal pain. She had to attend the emergency room three times in just over a week during this period.
“It felt as if someone was ripping, like, my organs apart from the inside”, she said. “I felt this pregnancy is not gonna go to full term and I’m most likely going to miscarry. Inside I was broken. It feels like it’s slipping out of my hands, and I had no control over that”.
Lauren was put on bed rest, with doctors hoping this may ameliorate her issues, but at 23 weeks gestation, her water broke, and she was rushed to the hospital. She was admitted to the hospital and given medication in an attempt to postpone the delivery of her baby.
“I was scared of not knowing what was going to happen next. I was scared of, is my baby going to make it?” Lauren recalled. “I felt myself losing control of the pregnancy and I did not have any answers. I was preparing myself for the worst”, she added.
Less than two weeks later, she developed a serious infection that doctors believed to be life-threatening, leaving her with no choice but to give birth to her baby early.
“I wanted to cry, but no tears would even form”, Lauren remembered. “I was just exhausted at that point because every time I felt as if I was taking one step forward to get to being able to hold my baby, something else was going wrong. And I was a nervous wreck”.
At just 25 weeks gestation, Lauren gave birth to baby Samantha, weighing only 1 lb 12 oz.
“When I heard my baby cry for the first time, it was the most beautiful sound ever. I was just so happy that she was finally here”, Lauren said, looking back on the time.
Samantha had several serious health complications, including a severe brain bleed, underdeveloped lungs, two holes in her heart, and fluid on her brain. She required multiple surgeries, including two brain operations.
Doctors warned Lauren that even if baby Samantha did survive, she might never walk or talk, and she may have other disabilities. “I had to make life and death decisions”, Lauren recalled.
However, Samantha defied the odds and only grew stronger. After 99 days in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), Lauren’s baby was finally allowed to go home.
Now, some time has passed, and baby Samantha is walking, learning, and thriving at home. “To see my daughter today is such a joy. Being her mom is just amazing”, Lauren said.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “We are grateful to hear that baby Samantha is doing so well at home, and that she continues to develop and live a happy life in spite of the challenges she faced as an extremely premature newborn”.
