To donate organs to others in need, a mother carries a fatally ill baby in her womb for the full term
Rylei Arcadia had only been in this planet for a week. However, she was able to have an impact on the world in a way that most people are unable to do in a lifetime.
When Krysta Davis found out she was pregnant, she was just like any other expectant mother. She was completely overjoyed. When she and her boyfriend learned that they were expecting a child, they were overjoyed. She expected pregnancy, childbirth, and parenthood to be a challenging experience for her. She was, however, eager for the challenge. She was happy about it, in fact. When Krysta was 18 weeks pregnant, however, she received devastating news that would disrupt her aspirations for a happy family.
She and her partner were informed that their unborn child had anencephaly, a serious birth abnormality characterized by a lack of adequate growth in the skull and brain of the infant. The majority of cases of this heinous disease have showed that babies only live for a few days at most. This was obviously a lot to take in. Despite all of the difficulties they had to face, the pair was overwhelmed by this dreadful news and understood exactly what they had to do.
They were offered two options: they could either induce labor and deliver their daughter to avoid prolonging the agony of pregnancy for a child who would eventually die regardless, or they could carry the pregnancy to its full term and hope for a miscarriage. After speaking with another doctor, Krsyta discovered that if she chose to carry her baby to full term, she would be able to donate the infant’s organs to other newborns in need. That was all the knowledge the couple required to make their decision.
“I may have not been able to take my baby home, but I could maybe use her life to give other mothers the chance to,” Krysta said.
The beautiful baby girl was delivered on the night before Christmas, almost by chance, and she showed remarkable resilience despite the several challenges she faced. Despite the circumstances, Krysta and her boyfriend were ecstatic to bring such a magnificent bundle of joy into the world.
Under the cautious supervision of her ever-loving parents, baby Rylei lasted a full week in this world. Nonetheless, they were compelled to say their goodbyes.
The lovely newborn girl arrived on Christmas Eve and immediately bucked the odds against her. The new parents savored every moment they had with their darling daughter.
“For nine months, I carried this beautiful soul while her father, our friends, family and myself filled her with love as she grew. I never would have imagined after she was diagnosed with anencephaly that she would bless us with a week of her presence,” wrote Krysta about her baby on her personal Facebook page. “A week of smiles and sounds of protest and snuggles. I wouldn’t trade this week for anything in the whole wide world.”
Rylei was just a week old when she died, but that didn’t stop her from having a tremendous impact on the lives of other babies and their families. Krysta’s heart valves will be utilized to save the lives of two other babies, she said. Her lungs would also be used to conduct study on the disease that had taken her life.
Rylei’s tale demonstrates that, even if life is limited (as it was for her), it does not have to be meaningless. In truth, a short life can be lived to the fullest extent possible as long as it is worthwhile. All you have to do is make sure you’re surrounded by people who love you and allow that love to flow through you to others.
