“We knew little Abby’s life had a purpose, no matter how long or short it was.”
These are the inspiring and brave words of Erika Jones, mum to baby Abigail.
As she explains in a moving
blog post, Erika and Stephan Jones' second daughter, Abigail was born on the 6th of August. Before she was born her parents knew that she had Down Syndrome, however weeks later while Abigail was still in the womb they were delivered another shocking blow, Abigail had an inoperable brain tumour and was unlikely to live long.
“At our 30-week ultrasound, our Dr. discovered that a mass had developed in the left hemisphere of Abigail’s brain.”
“Our hearts were broken and our minds weighted with questions and fear of the unknown to come.”
Abigail was delivered by caesarian section ahead of schedule and her parents were thrilled to meet their new baby in spite of the bleak prognosis.
"Our expectation was that we wouldn’t have much time with Abigail after she was born, but our hearts leapt with joy when a beautiful pink baby girl came out screaming (and pooping!). She is moving, nursing, squawking, sticking out her tongue, opening her eyes, holding our fingers, and doing all the things a baby does."
“The neurosurgeon recommended that we take Abigail home and cover her with love,” writes Erika. “So we did and the pediatric hospice will help us navigate the journey to come. We have smothered this little one with love and kisses and will continue to do so every moment we get.”
The couple have honoured their daughter with a beautiful photo shoot with Mary of
8.08 Photography and the resulting images are an inspiring testament to this family's courage and a reminder to us all to cherish every moment with our babies.
“A MRI done after birth confirmed that nothing can be done to treat the tumor, it is too invasive and aggressive.”
"We don’t want to lose our daughter. We want to see her laugh, dance, fight with her sister, ride a bike, go to school…we want to see her life."
“Most likely, her whole life will be weeks or months, not years.”
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