“Mom I’m pregnant, it’s a boy…” Leisha said through skype. It was Mother's day and my mom, Laura, one of my older sisters, and I were all huddled around the computer talking to my oldest sister. This would be her fourth kid. We congratulated her and talked about how cute he would be. We debated names and made bets about when he’d be born. Once the conversation died down, Leisha’s smile started to fade. She looked to her lap, “But the doctors say that he has a cyst the size of his head near is abdomen, a bladder obstruction, they say that I don't have enough embryonic fluid, that his lungs aren’t forming correctly,” She paused to wipe away tears that had begun to form, “They also said that there is an experimental surgery that can save him...” …show more content…
“We’ve decided to name him Jude,” Vahe, Leisha’s husband told me over the phone, “After St. Jude, the patron of lost causes.” he continued.
The goal of the surgery was to place a 1mm shunt into the baby’s abdomen to drain the fluid from the cyst. The first attempt failed, there wasn’t enough pressure from the bladder to place the shunt correctly. The second attempt was just as problematic.
“My body is failing my baby!” Leisha said between sobs.
They sent Leisha and her family home. They know that Jude had a very small chance of survival, but Leisha decided not to terminate the pregnancy.
A month before Jude was due Leisha was told that there was hope for her baby. She didn’t like the idea of getting her hopes up, just to be let down. But she would do anything for her baby. They returned to the Colorado Children’s Hospital. But before they started the surgery Leisha went into labor and my mom took a surprise trip to Colorado.
Jude was born at 7:31am on September 14, 2015, and died just hours