Every expectant mother hopes and prays that her baby will be born healthy and happy. But Chelsea Hough was faced with the unthinkable when her little boy was born with medical problems that would put him on a ventilator and limit him forever. Chelsea Hough, a mother of three, made the incredibly difficult decision to take her baby off life support. But what happened next was nothing short of a miracle…
Lifelong at the “level of a 2-3 month old child”
Lisa Hough shared a Facebook photo of her sweet little grandson and talked about the unimaginably difficult decision her daughter Chelsea had to make. Little Karlson was born with a variety of medical complications. To the dismay of the new mom and grandmother, doctors discovered that the infant was suffering from a “left temporal lobe hemorrhage” and a rare, genetic metabolic disorder called non-ketotic hyperglycemia (NKH).
“His case is severe and would result in him being severely neurologically impaired and functioning at the level of a 2-3 month old child at best for the rest of his life,” explained Grandma Lisa in her Facebook post. Given all the information from the medical staff, his mother decided with a heavy heart to end the little one’s life before it had even begun.
“He breathes without help”
“We weren’t ready to say goodbye to Karlson, but we had accepted the inevitable. We were given 10 minutes after we turned off the intensive care unit and the ventilator and were told that he would not breathe on his own and that we should expect his heart to stop beating within those 10 minutes,” Lisa said. But God obviously had other plans for the little boy.
“He started breathing immediately when the ventilator was removed, heart rate and oxygen levels stabilized, and here we are, 5 hours later, with this miracle baby who we were told would never breathe, swallow, have a gag reflex, or even survive. He is breathing unassisted,” wrote the proud grandmother.
Doctors cannot explain the case
For the doctors, the case is inexplicable – no medical or scientific data can explain this miracle. “I’m not sure why I ever thought we didn’t deserve a miracle and I’m not sure how much longer we have him, but we have him now. And now we’re going to take him,” wrote Lisa. No sooner said than done.
In the meantime, the little darling was allowed to come home to his mom and grandma. “Every day I am brought to my knees, and just when I think God is finished, I am quickly reminded that he is not…. I have no words for my gratitude and I will praise him as long as I have air in my lungs for giving me Karlson,” Lisa concludes her emotional post. What a happy ending! (lkr)