Baby Angela Born With Anencephaly Defies the Odds, Turns 7 Months Old

National   |   Sarah Zagorski   |   Oct 28, 2014   |   10:07AM   |   Washington, DC

On March 23rd, a daughter was born to Sonia and Rony Morales. But it was just five months prior to her birth that the couple found out their daughter had fatal birth defects. And according to doctors, the best option for their unborn child was to end her life through abortion.

As LifeNews previously reported, their daughter had Anencephaly, which is a severe form of spina bifida where a failure of fusion of the neural rube in early pregnancy results in the baby developing without cerebral hemispheres, including the neocortex. Tragically, most babies who survive to birth almost always die in the first hours or days after birth.

babyangela3Sonia said, “They told us she had fatal birth defects, that she was incompatible for life, because babies with her birth defect sometimes are stillborn or die just after birth. They gave her no chance. We had three ultrasounds that confirmed the diagnosis. They used the word ‘terminate,’ but for us, that meant abortion — killing our child.”

However, the couple refused and decided to name their daughter Angela, because it means messenger of God. Sonya said, “She would be our angel, our Angela. We thought she was going to heaven right away.”

They shared their story with the National Catholic Register.

“I came home [after the diagnosis] with a piece of paper with ‘anencephaly’ written on it,” Sonia said. “We had wanted a boy after having a girl. We laughed when I told him we were having another girl. Then I told him about the diagnosis, and we started crying.”

The news was devastating for the couple, who had been thanking God for months for the gift of another baby, but they did their best to cling to their faith.

babyangela5“I was crying every day because I was feeling her moving inside me. She was alive — but they gave her a death sentence,” Sonia said. “My husband cried, too, but he told me that I shouldn’t cry all the time because she will feel our sadness. We felt that God had a mission for us to be [voices] for the life of our baby and all the others like her.”

They turned to prayer, as they always had, concentrating on devotion to the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and praying for the special intercession of the Child Jesus, Virgin Mary and St. John Paul II.

The doctors discounted the family’s reports that Angela was alive and kicking in her womb and that she responded when Sonia, Rony and their daughter, Elizabeth, age 5, sang to her.

“I have a baby who is giving me strong kicks who has no chance of survival?” Sonia asked her physicians. “The doctors said, ‘She is only living because she is attached to you; it is only a reflex.’ God gave us the child that we wanted, and we were going to love her despite her condition.”

Amazingly, Angela survived and is now over seven months old. After her birth, she underwent a three-hour surgery to close an opening at the top of her head; and Sonia and Rony care for her like they would any other child. The national director of Priests for Life, Father Frank Pavone, commented on the couple’s decision to choose life. He said, “When parents resist that pressure from doctors, they are literally helping to save the medical profession from the corrosive effects of legal abortion, reminding doctors that they are supposed to care for life, not kill it. Moreover, such parents spare themselves from a lifetime of damage from abortion. It’s one thing to lose one’s child; it’s quite another to kill him or her. Parents who love children who may only live for a short time in or outside the womb understand that the value of life is not measured in hours, days or weeks, but, rather, is seen in the love given and received during whatever time God gives us.”

On October 23rd Sonia shared the following update on her Facebook page:

babyangela4“It was 7 months ago today that my beautiful baby arrived. A wonderful and beautiful seven months. I remember everything about that day. I remember arriving to ER and going to the room I would deliver her. The day was filled with so much joy and excitement but at the same time the deepest pain and sorrow knowing that day means saying hello and goodbye to my little princess. I couldn’t bare the thought of that because that means we will be leaving the hospital without her.

I will never forget the feeling I felt when they handed me my beautiful and perfect baby girl. In my eyes she is fearfully and wonderfully made! All the pain and worry suddenly disappeared and in that moment my life was forever changed. My heart knew a new meaning to fierce love it had never felt before. Looking into that beautiful face for the first time and hearing her beautiful voice is the most unforgettable moment of my life. My heart felt an overwhelming kind of love I had never felt before. I will never forget all the beautiful details about this day.

Two days passed and Angela was sent home on hospice care and the best advice doctors could really give was “make her comfortable.” Today she has been here with us for seven months! She has changed my life completely in so many perfect ways. Her strength is inspiring, her love is unmatchable and her spirit is beyond sweet and beautiful. It is my greatest joy in life to be the mother to such a perfect, strong, brave and beautiful little girl. I wish everyday that I could be as strong and brave as her.

I am thankful everyday that she was given to me. I am so very grateful that The Lord has given me this beautiful treasure to take care of. Angela’s LIFE has been such a beautiful testimony of the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord. Her life has drawn me closer to my Heavenly Father and made me understand his love for us in a whole new wonderful way. I am so proud that she has already far beaten the medical professionals expectations and has been doing the opposite they said she could ever do. I know that God is the ultimate physician; no earthly man can tell me what is going to happen. Angela has proved to be a fighter and I will continue to fight and Rony, Elizabeth and I will be always here to her side and give her the life she deserves. Every baby deserves a chance at life. CHOOSE LIFE! Happy 7 months of LIFE Baby Angela. Daddy, mommy and big sister love you!!! Thank for the prayers, we love you.”