Shanelle Ragin of Maryland quite literally risked her life to become a mother. You see, she was born with only half a heart. At birth she only had one ventricle in her heart, which made it impossible for her heart to pump blood correctly. Fortunately, Ragin was able to get a life-saving procedure called a Fontan to fix the congenital defect, but she was left with side effects. As a child she had a hard time breathing doing something as simple as going up and down the stairs and she has to take medication for the rest of her life. So you can imagine that when Ragin became unexpectedly pregnant, doctors feared for her life as well as the baby's. I mean, half a heart can only handle so much.
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Dr. Anitha John, a congenital heart defect specialist at Children's National Health System says, "It's one thing for half a heart to function for one individual, but now she's growing a baby inside of her as well." The pregnancy was putting Ragin at risk for heart failure especially during labor.
Ragin's biggest fears were that either she or her baby would die. She spent pretty much her entire pregnancy on bed rest and being heavily monitored by her medical team.
Two months ago, Ragin gave birth to Carter. He weighed in at a little over five pounds–and he's healthy and just perfect. His mamá survived too and feels beyond blessed.
I'm so happy that mommy and baby are doing well. I don't even know Shanelle Ragin, but I'm so proud of her. I cannot even begin to imagine the fear and uncertainty she had to deal with right up until she held her beautiful little miracle baby in her arms. I hope she continues to be healthy and blessed so that she can live a long life and watch her baby grow into a man.
Image via shannell.ragin/Facebook
