Four Tiny Economy Blocks

It was Jeremy and Shelly Cawley’s first baby, and they hoped for natural childbirth. But complications arose late in the pregnancy. Shelly developed a clot in her leg which her doctor treated with blood thinners. Then she was diagnosed with preeclampsia. Shelly was told the safest option for her and the baby was a C-section. Little Rylan was delivered safely, but Shelly’s condition deteriorated rapidly. The new mother’s lungs filled with fluid and she slipped into a coma. In a desperate move, her surgical team laid Rylan on her dying mother’s chest. Her tiny cry prompted a spike in Shelly’s vital signs. “We knew somewhere in there, she was hearing her baby,” said one of the nurses, “It gave her a reason to fight.” A week later Shelly awoke from her coma. Last week Jeremy and Shelly celebrated Rylan’s first birthday. When she’s a little older, they plan to tell her about the day she saved her mother’s life.