centered image

centered image

Miracle Mom Born With No Muscles Gives Birth To Healthy Baby

Discussion in 'Doctors Cafe' started by Ghada Ali youssef, Jan 7, 2017.

  1. Ghada Ali youssef

    Ghada Ali youssef Golden Member

    Joined:
    Dec 29, 2016
    Messages:
    2,488
    Likes Received:
    93
    Trophy Points:
    4,175
    Gender:
    Female
    Practicing medicine in:
    Egypt

    e4a7ddab66aec08e9646b0bf5b6171bf.jpg

    Sheree Psaila, 22, has virtually no muscle mass in her arms or legs
    She was born with a rare genetic condition and is only 122cm tall
    Despite her disability she gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Hayden
    Ms Psaila is unable to pick Hayden up when he cries and needs help
    Here she shares her incredible story of overcoming the odds to be a mum

    When Sheree Psaila hears her baby cry all she wants to do is pick him up.
    But a rare genetic condition means the first-time-mum has virtually no muscle tissue in her arms or legs, and reaching for her little boy is impossible.
    'Sometimes he'll cry and I can't reach him to pick him up. I have to wait for someone to pick him up for me,' she said.

    The challenges she faces as a mother are greater than most, but her journey to parenthood is nothing short of a miracle.

    6a58fb42ed7027e83f613c73b2ff89ed.jpg

    When Ms Psaila was born doctors warned she would not live past her first birthday.

    She suffers from a rare congenital condition called arthrogryposis multiplex congenita, meaning she has little muscle tissue and is barely able to bend her joints.
    More than 20 surgeries did little to alleviate her condition, but she remained determined to lead a normal life.
    She met her husband Chris, who has a hereditary condition that caused damage to his lower spine, at Tafe before they got in married in March 2015.
    After suffering a devastating miscarriage, the couple had their first baby, Hayden, a year after they married.

    View attachment c2aa7dc1a4f041cd613c7ef916077e64.jpg
    Thankfully, the pregnancy went smoothly.
    Doctors were initially concerned Ms Psaila, who is just 122cm or 4 feet tall, would be too small to allow her baby to grow normally.
    'The doctors told me I probably wouldn't be able to have kids, although they didn't give me a reason why not,' she said.

    dfa26a6cc42beee4abf664014c678b0f.jpg

    At 29 weeks pregnant the couple moved to Melbourne to be closer to the hospital, and rather than give birth naturally, Ms Psaila had a cesarean under a general anaesthetic.
    'At first, the doctors wanted to do an epidural so I could be awake. But because my spine isn't completely straight they put me under general anaesthetics,' she said.
    When little Hayden was born he measured 47cm tall and weighed in at 2.5 kilograms.
    He has no disability.

    abda3d94297473da0fc1d864ec505cf0.jpg

    'I love being a mum, but it does get frustrating at times because there are a lot of things I can't do,' Ms Psaila said.
    'I can change his nappy, but it takes a lot longer and I need assistance because I can't lift his legs up.
    'And when he was smaller, our carer would hold Hayden in the bath so I could bathe him, but now that he's big enough to sit in shallow water in a full-sized tub, I can't bend my knees enough to get down and wash him myself.
    'When we go swimming, I want to be able to hold him in the pool and do all of the stuff that Chris does with him.'
    Ms Psaila has a carer that comes five days a week for three hours to help, but her husband is the primary carer for her and Hayden.

    She often gets frustrated as people mistake her as Hayden's big sister, instead of his mother, and talk down to her.
    'People mistake my condition for a disease or intellectual disability, but that's not the case,' she said.
    I'm just a disabled mum who has to lower the handlebar on the pram. That's it.'
    While she has found happiness as a mother, Ms Psaila's own childhood was complicated.

    Doctors suggested to her parents she be put in a wheelchair and sent to a special needs school.
    But Ms Psaila defied their expectations and took her first steps at five years old but she faced difficulties.
    'I always got bullied and no one understood what my capabilities were,' she said.
    Today as well as caring for her son, Ms Psaila is studying social media marketing at Tafe.

    e3ee97965adb3e351539fe5f2181079f.jpg
     

    Add Reply

Share This Page

<