A baby boy whose seriously ill mother was told she should abort him is safe and healthy at three-and-a-half months.
While she was pregnant with Shaun, Hollie Quinn was diagnosed with a life-threatening condition and advised to have a termination.
“I was at death’s door – so ill that they had no idea how I had been walking around at all”, she said.
“To save my life I would need steroids and other drugs. I would also need blood transfusions.
“Worse, the doctors said I should have a termination. Being pregnant was putting a further strain on my body.
“And the life-saving drugs were so powerful they were very likely to kill my unborn baby, or make him deformed.
“If I didn’t have a termination, I would miscarry.”
But Hollie refused to have an abortion, and continued to fight her condition, an autoimmune disorder called Goodpasture’s Disease that caused her body to attack its own vital organs.
There were fears that the powerful drugs she was prescribed could kill the baby.
“But as the days went by,” she said, “the scans showed my baby was fine.
“At 20 weeks we found out it was a little boy.
“He looked beautiful on the scan and I began to have more hope, willing him to survive.”
Shaun was born by caesarian at 35 weeks, weighing 3lb 12oz. He was put in a special care cot as a precaution but was allowed home with his mother after ten days.
Hollie said, “it seems that by 16 weeks Shaun’s vital organs had developed enough to be able to withstand all the drugs”.
Hollie is unlikely to be able to have another baby because of the drugs she had to take and her physical weakness.
She said: “Knowing that makes me feel even more fortunate that I didn’t have a termination and I realise how lucky I am to have Shaun.”
