After a scan showed that the baby would not be able to live, the young mother was told by doctors to end her pregnancy. The brave mother chose to give her a chance to live, though. She said that her daughter was born with a crown on her head because of the way her bones stick out. What went wrong with the baby’s eyes, brain, and nose? Scan results showed that she had a cleft lip, a clubbed foot, and fingers that were joined together.
The mother, Lugo, and her daughter, Helianny, talked about the first time she learned about her daughter’s flaws: “From the start, doctors told us that Helianny was not compatible with life.” They always said that the pregnancy should be stopped. We were told she was a veggie, but I told them she wasn’t because she kicked me. When I talked to her, she replied with kicks, and she liked instrumental music. She moved around a lot while she did these things. I made the choice to let her live. “I loved her with all my heart and soul.”
She also said, “She had a cleft lip, open eyes, a nose that could be seen, a brain that wasn’t fully formed, a clubbed foot, and hands without fingers.” A disease called hydrocephalus causes fluid to fill the space around the brain, which can make the skull swell and cause brain damage.
For example, Lugo said, “Helena looked like a’supernatural queen’ back then because she had a crown on her head.” There were three bumps on her head that made it look like a crown. She didn’t have any eyebrows or eyelashes, and the veins on her head looked like they were about to burst. There was pink skin where her eyes should have been. It looked like her nose was stuck to her face, with only two very small holes and one slightly bigger hole. I still thought she was beautiful, though, and I still do. I see my little girl as a real life hero and a fighter. She has won every battle she has been in. We should not give up, stop whining about silly things, live each day as it comes, and be thankful for what we have. That’s why Helianny came into the world.
Helianny has had four surgeries so far. The first two were to drain blood from her brain, the third was to fix her club foot, and the fourth was to fix her cleft lip. Lugo said, “I hope that one day we can get the money to do the surgeries that need to be done.” Helianny should be able to walk, talk, and do as much on her own as possible so that the only thing that stops her is herself. I thank God every day for Helianny because she is alive, strong, kind, persistent, hopeful, and an angel. She came into the world with a big purpose: to show us that we worry about small things too much and forget to be happy. On her social media account, the mother often posts new information about her daughter. This is, in fact, the most recent picture of the child.
