The story of the baby who survived very premature birth and stroke
By: Kimberley Morvai
Tags: Life, Success Story, Premature Babies, Pregnancy

Image provided by the mother.

Suitable publication: The Birth Hour

Victoria Benson got pregnant with her second daughter, Sonia, in the autumn of 2015. She and her fiancé were both happy and excited to learn their family will grow with a new member, a baby girl. They both had daughters from their previous marriages who they love very much, and this baby was about to complete their life and make them a big, happy family.

At first, everything went according to plan. Victoria and her fiancé prepared for the big day enthusiastically. They had a beautiful wedding ceremony and they moved into a nice house, which is big enough for the six of them. Everything was ready for the little one’s arrival. The family was very excited to finally meet Sonia, but they had no idea that the day it happens would come much sooner than expected.

Victoria was a little more than six months pregnant at the end of March. She has never missed a doctor’s appointment, and all her results were fine. At this point, she was still working as usual, because there was no reason for her not to. However, at the beginning of April, things changed. Although there was no previous sign for it, on the 8th of April Victoria’s waters broke. It was shocking for everyone, as she was only twenty-seven weeks pregnant. They called an ambulance, which took them straight to a hospital in her hometown, but as her case was more serious than they could handle, she had to be taken to Budapest. There she was told she must give birth to her baby because she was already in labour.

Their beautiful daughter, Sonia was born the same day, on the 8th of April. Luckily, there were no other complications during her birth. She was only 35 cm and weighed 990g. She was very tiny and fragile, but for everyone’s relief, healthy.

Sonia in the incubator. Image provided by her mother.

Thanks to modern technology, it is possible to keep premature babies alive, but they require special care for a long time. This was the case for Sonia, too. They put her straight into her incubator, where she could safely spend the time she should have spent in her mother’s stomach.

But her story isn’t over yet.

Before everyone could forget about the first trauma, another one came straight after. As if being premature hadn’t been big enough of a challenge, just a few days after being born, she had a stroke. Although the family was warned some complications and aftereffects might still come up, they were not prepared for it, and it wasn’t what they needed. They were not sure if Sonia would make it, but fortunately, she did.

Image provided by the mother.

Sonia spent the first six weeks of her life in a hospital incubator. Doctors and nurses helped her breathe and eat because she was unable to do these by herself. Victoria travelled back and forth every single day from her hometown to be able to spend a little time with her daughter and to bring her breastmilk to help her grow. It was the hardest time for all of them. Sonia had to fight for her life, while her parents and sisters could only hope for the best.

And finally, she made it.

Once she was big and strong enough that she didn’t require any special treatment anymore, Sonia could finally leave the hospital after two months and go home where the rest of her family couldn’t wait to meet her.

Today, she is a happy 4-year-old, who is perfectly healthy and energetic. She loves playing with her sisters and chatting with people about everything. Fortunately, she is currently not suffering from any disabilities or diseases that could have been caused by her preterm birth or the stroke she had as an infant. The only aftereffect they noticed was that when she started walking, she couldn’t put down her right heel properly. They have already seen a doctor about it last year, and Sonia is now over a successful surgery that was done earlier this year.

Sonia today. Image provided by her mother.

Sonia’s life didn’t have an easy start. She has many life-threatening fights behind her, but she has successfully won all of them. Her story makes her special and gives every mother in the same or similar situation hope that it is possible to survive, even if the chances are lower than the average.