A mother who refused to abort her baby girl after she was diagnosed with dwarfism thanked God when she arrived safely.
Ashley Shirley and her husband Ronnie were ‘heartbroken’ when doctors suggested they kill their baby girl, Jocelyn, after the diagnosis.
Despite initially being told that Jocelyn’s skeletal dysplasia – or dwarfism – was non-lethal, her parents were reportedly offered an abortion on several occasions.
Underdeveloped
Scans appeared to show issues with Jocelyn’s bones, limbs and brain.
“At that point the doctor gave the option to abort”, Ashley said and added that she was shocked abortion was even being offered.
Doctors were stunned when Jocelyn was delivered by caesarean without any abnormalities, having said just weeks before that she was likely to die.
No explanation
According to Ashley, the neonatal doctor said: “I came to see a baby with many abnormalities, and I am looking at a completely normal-looking baby.”
The part of Jocelyn’s brain that had been missing was there, her legs and arms were straight and full-length, there was no fluid on the brain, and her chest cavity – which had been deemed too small to support life – looked normal.
“They could not explain it”, Ashley said.
Faith
The youth worker and now mother-of-four gave God the glory: “My husband and I wept together, thanking God! I was in shock at the goodness of God.”
She said she and her husband leant on God throughout the difficult pregnancy: “I don’t know that I could have gotten through it without my faith.”
“We will continue to trust God through this”, she added. “He hasn’t let us down yet, and I know He will continue to show Himself faithful.”