Mom's Unwavering Faith Through Harrowing Journey

Now, a mother's unwavering faith is guiding her through a harrowing journey after receiving devastating news about her unborn son. Entities down in Monaghan spoke with Madison Wilcox about her decision to keep her baby. Charlie, who has a fatal brain disorder. Madison Wilcox and her husband were thrilled in February when they learned they would soon welcome a baby boy into their happy family. However, complications began early in the pregnancy. At 18 weeks, Wilcox's worst fears came true during a maternal fetal medicine scan. So I remember going back into the room and the ultrasound tech was just quiet for a really long time and she just kept looking at the scan of my baby's brain. And I'll never forget the words that for the rest of my life, she said, I'm concerned. At that moment, Wilcox knew something was really wrong. The ultrasound technician went and got the doctor. The doctor came back in and he officially told us that my son has a lobar holoprosencephaly, which means that his brain never divided into two hemispheres and it never formed properly. And then they also told us they were, they also found a so he has a hole in his heart and his aorta is in the wrong spot. Wilcox says doctors suspect a condition called trisomy 13. Many babies with the condition pass away during their first few weeks of life. Only 10% survive past their first year. The doctor said they couldn't locate orbital bones or eyes. They recommended terminating the pregnancy. Although Wilcox was against abortion, the severity of her baby's health issues made her feel morally and ethically at peace with the decision to have an abortion. As she and her husband continued to move forward to arrange it, they kept hitting roadblocks. The clinic was booked for weeks. There were problems with the insurance company. They began to wonder if they were making a mistake. It just felt like an answer to our prayer that we were supposed to keep this baby. We had already gotten a no in different directions where everywhere we turned, it was like, this is not the right thing to do for your family. And so ultimately we decided to carry him. And now I am so glad that we made that decision. Wilcox says acceptance followed. I felt so at peace knowing that I didn't have to make that decision any longer of if my baby lived or passed away. And I was just giving it up to God at that point. The mom says her faith has played the biggest role in helping her make it through the tough times. Not only making the decision to carry my son Charlie, but also helping us to teach my living kids that you can go through the most devastating circumstances and still get through it because there's a greater purpose to all of this. And it's helped me and my husband to stay strong and bonded together because we know that life does throw curveballs at you and they can be excruciating and they can be gut-wrenching, but it doesn't have to tear us apart and it doesn't have to make us miserable. Wilcox believes there's a plan behind it all and that she will one day see Charlie, even if he passes away. Although it's going to be so hard to carry my baby and hand him right back to God, I know that God trusted me to be his mom and he'll always be my third baby. Wilcox says she and her husband have grown closer as they prepare themselves for every outcome. Daniel Monahan, NTD News.