Cassy Gray, 36, was informed by her obstetrician that the prognosis for her unborn child was poor following a twelve-week scan. The doctor advised her to terminate the pregnancy due to the incompatibility of the baby’s condition with life.
Megan White is afflicted with a rare condition, semilobar holoprosencephaly, which resulted in the cessation of brain development in her mother’s womb at five weeks gestation, as reported by Claire Elliot.
Despite being informed that there was a 97% probability that her baby would be stillborn, Cassy remained undeterred. “We promptly determined that termination was not a viable option,” stated Cassy. “I am not religious, but I believed that if God wanted Megan, He would take her. If she was going to die, she would die in her own time; I was not going to take it from her.”
That resolve was subjected to considerable challenge, as reported by Elliot.
And five days before her baby was due, she was told scans showed Megan – who was given only a three per cent chance of surviving the birth – had “open wounds on her face, no cheekbones and her eyes were bulging”.
But her proud mum woke up to a sound she feared she would never hear – the voice of her 18-month-old daughter calling “mummy”.
Cassy, a former chef, said: “It was really emotional, I didn’t think I’d ever hear her say it. She’s always very vocal in the mornings.
“She’s just shouting – no words in particular – and then she kept saying, ‘Mum. Mum’, telling me to get up.
“There are no other words – she’s just amazing.
In fact, Cassy recalled telling her dad when Megan was born that “there’s nothing wrong with her”.
“Now I can’t believe what a strong personality she has,” she said. “She smiles through everything and is a cheeky little monkey.”
Not that the road ahead will be easy.
Cassy knows the future is uncertain and Megan is now on oxygen at night after surgery to put stents in her nose to keep her airways open.
But the brave little girl has confounded every doctor’s prediction so far and amazed everyone with her will to live.
Cassy, who is 22 weeks pregnant with her second child, said: “She is proof that there is always hope.
“A neurologist in Glasgow asked if she could smile and I said ‘yes’, then she smiled on cue and he said ‘it takes a lot more brain function to smile than it does to do a lot of other things’.”
Daniel Miller is responsible for nearly all of National Right to Life News' political writing.
With the election of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency, Daniel Miller developed a deep obsession with U.S. politics that has never let go of the political scientist. Whether it's the election of Joe Biden, the midterm elections in Congress, the abortion rights debate in the Supreme Court or the mudslinging in the primaries - Daniel Miller is happy to stay up late for you.
Daniel was born and raised in New York. After living in China, working for a news agency and another stint at a major news network, he now lives in Arizona with his two daughters.
