Samantha Ellis was plagued with health problems, and at 26 was already going through menopause. Her body had been through endless surgeries and a hysterectomy was on the cards. Becoming a mother was an impossible dream.
And then, a miracle happened.
Against all odds
Victorian couple Larry and Samantha Ellis had been told that they would never be able to have children. With two uteruses , two cervixes , a stoma, damaged bowel and bladder, a damaged pelvis and one fallopian tube, the chances of Samantha falling pregnant were slim, almost microscopic.
“I was told it was a 10 per cent chance of getting pregnant,” Samantha told Mum’s Grapevine. “I was planning on having a hysterectomy in 2019. I was 26. I was already going through menopause through treatment and there wasn’t enough eggs. I already had endless surgeries, my body wasn’t strong enough to be pregnant.”
But somehow, through all the trauma her body had endured, Samantha fell pregnant.
“When I fell pregnant I was on the end of my injections that stopped the process of the reproductive system which put me through menopause. I didn’t have enough eggs at the time. My body was recovering from my stoma surgery which was only three months prior but though all that my body was carrying and growing my daughter.
“My pregnancy was high risk. I fell pregnant in my left uterus. I had appointments every week, two hours away from my home, right up until I had my baby girl. The pregnancy was a true miracle.”
Believing in miracles
There wasn’t a day of Samantha’s pregnancy that she could relax. From 26 until 35 weeks, she was in hospital with complications from her stoma and her breech bub.
“Each day of the pregnancy was scary. As I got to the end I had placental shortening, which meant from 30 to 36 weeks baby’s weight was dropping. It was scary not knowing what could happen, if my body was healthy enough to carry a child. Everything was going through my head. I went back into hospital at end of 35 weeks and had a c-section at 36.5 weeks.
“I made it. Made it up to 37 weeks of pregnancy. Having a c-section was the safest option for me and bubs which we were told at the start due to my internal issues doctors had to be on standby just in case. There were a lot of doctors on standby for me and baby as it was unknown how things were going to happen as bubs was breech and low birth weight and with my complications anything could’ve happened.
“It took an hour to have the c section. I had a lot of anxiety but a lot of excitement too. Once bubs was out it was crucial that I was ok and that I wouldn’t bleed out or nothing was too damaged. After an hour we got taken to a room and I got to hold my baby girl, My fiancè and I staying in a shared private room for a week. We had to wait till bubs put weight on to go home.”
Looking back on her pregnancy and the birth of her daughter Charity, Samantha says every single second was worth it.
“This is what years of surgery, operations and trauma to the body looks like. This is what the birth of a miracle baby looks like. This is what the raw reality of what my body has gone through looks like. I am confronted with it every day but am reminded of its beauty, the beauty of what it created. My beautiful daughter.
“Endless amounts of surgeries, operations, diagnosis, and I have pushed through all of them only to realise that all of this was for my beautiful girl. The external scars on my belly and the internal scars I can feel every day, but at the end of the day, it’s who I am. Not who I planned to be but it’s made me who I am today.
“Being told I’d never get pregnant. There was only a 10 per cent chance, with complications, diagnosis and treatments I’ve been on. Well, I proved all the medical experts wrong. I was pregnant with a miracle baby with two uteruses, two cervixes, a damaged bowel, bladder and pelvis. One fallopian tube and ovary, internal adhesions and a stoma.
“Miracles do happen; you can prove doctors wrong. Everything happens for a reason. The past six years of my health, what my body has gone through, the hardest times wondering why it was all happening. My beautiful daughter was the reason it all had to happen. The surgeries aren’t over yet, but for now, I am just grateful and thankful.
“Hold onto hope. Pray and trust. Miracles do happen.”
More birth stories from the Grapeviner community…
- Birth Story: ‘I found out I was pregnant at 28 weeks’
- Birth Story: Mum gives birth to surprise twins
- Birth Story: Diary of an accidental home birth
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