Samantha Ellis was already going through menopause at 26. She was plagued with health problems and her body had been through endless surgeries and a hysterectomy was on the cards. Becoming a mother seemed to be an impossible dream.
And then, a miracle happened.
Samantha Ellis and her partner Larry had been told that they would never be able to have children. With two ᴜᴛᴇʀᴜsᴇs , ᴛᴡᴏ ᴄᴇʀᴠɪxᴇs , ᴀ sᴛᴏᴍᴀ, ᴅᴀᴍᴀɢᴇᴅ ʙᴏᴡᴇʟ ᴀɴᴅ ʙʟᴀᴅᴅᴇʀ, a ᴅᴀᴍᴀɢᴇᴅ ᴘᴇʟᴠɪs ᴀɴᴅ ᴏɴᴇ Fᴀʟʟᴏᴘɪᴀɴ tube, the chances of Samantha falling pregnant were almost microscopic.
“I was told it was a 10 per cent chance of getting pregnant,I was planning on having a ʜʏsᴛᴇʀᴇᴄᴛᴏᴍʏ in 2019. I was 26. I was already going through ᴍᴇɴᴏᴘᴀᴜsᴇ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛᴍᴇɴᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴡᴀsɴ’ᴛ ᴇɴᴏᴜɢʜ ᴇɢɢs. I already had ᴇɴᴅʟᴇss sᴜʀɢᴇʀɪᴇs, my body wasn’t strong enough to be pregnant.” Samantha said
Despite all the ᴛʀᴀᴜᴍᴀ her body had endured, Samantha fell pregnant.
“When I fell pregnant I was on the end of ᴍʏ ɪɴᴊᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴs that stopped the process of the ʀᴇᴘʀᴏᴅᴜᴄᴛɪᴠᴇ sʏsᴛᴇᴍ which put me through menopause. I didn’t have enough eggs at the time. My body was recovering from my sᴛᴏᴍᴀ sᴜʀɢᴇʀʏ which was only three months prior but though all that my body was carrying and growing my daughter. My pregnancy was ʜɪɢʜ ʀɪsᴋ. I fell pregnant in my ʟᴇFᴛ ᴜᴛᴇʀᴜs. I had appointments every week, two hours away from my home, right up until I had my baby girl. The pregnancy was a true miracle.” She said
There wasn’t a day of Samantha’s pregnancy that she could relax. She was in hospital with ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟɪᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴs from her sᴛᴏᴍᴀ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴇʀ ʙʀᴇᴇᴄʜ ʙᴜʙ from 26 until 35 weeks.
“Each day of the pregnancy was sᴄᴀʀʏ. As I got to the end I had ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇɴᴛᴀʟ sʜᴏʀᴛᴇɴɪɴɢ, which meant from 30 to 36 weeks baby’s weight was dropping. It was sᴄᴀʀʏ not knowing what could happen, if my body was healthy enough to carry a child. Everything was going through my head. I went back into hospital at end of 35 weeks and had a ᴄ-sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ at 36.5 weeks.
“I made it. Made it up to 37 weeks of pregnancy. Having a c-section was the safest option for me and bubs which we were told at the start due to my internal issues doctors had to be on standby just in case. There were a lot of doctors on standby for me and baby as it was unknown how things were going to happen as bubs was breech and low birth weight and with my complications anything could’ve happened.
“It took an hour to have the ᴄ sᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ. I had a lot of anxiety but a lot of ᴇxᴄɪᴛᴇᴍᴇɴᴛ too. Once bubs was out it was crucial that I was ok and that I wouldn’t ʙʟᴇᴇᴅ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏʀ ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴡᴀs ᴛᴏᴏ ᴅᴀᴍᴀɢᴇᴅ. After an hour we got taken to a room and I got to hold my baby girl, My fiancè and I staying in a shared private room for a week. We had to wait ᴛɪʟʟ ʙᴜʙs ᴘᴜᴛ ᴡᴇɪɢʜt on to go home.”
“Endless amounts of surgeries, operations, diagnosis and I have pushed through all of them only to realise that all of of this was for my beautiful girl. The external scars on my belly and the internal scars I can feel every day but at the end of the day it’s who I am. Not who I planned to be but it’s made me who I am today.
“Being told I’d never get pregnant. There was only a 10 per cent chance, with complications, diagnosis and treatments I’ve been on. Well I proved all the medical expert wrong. I was pregnant with a miracle baby with two uteruses, two cervixes, a damaged bowel, bladder and pelvis. One fallopian tube and ovary, internal adhesions and a stoma.
“Miracles do happen, you can prove doctor’s wrong. Everything happens for a reason. The past six years of my health, what my body has gone through, the hardest times wondering why it was all happening. My beautiful daughter was the reason was it all had to happen. The surgeries aren’t over yet but for now I am just grateful and thankful.
“Hold onto hope. Pray and trust. Miracles do happen.”
