The Darlington and Stockton Times | News, Sport, Business, North Yorkshire, County Durham

Baby who grasped a chance for life

From the archive, first published Friday 19th Jan 2007.

PEACEFULLY sleeping in her mother's arms, little Rosie Foster is oblivious to how special she is.The baby has amazed doctors who gave her a five per cent chance of survival after they discovered she had two life-threatening conditions.Parents Chris and Louise Foster, from Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, had been advised to terminate the pregnancy by doctors who believed a miscarriage was almost inevitable.But the couple decided to give their second child a chance to fight for her life and have been rewarded with a beautiful girl.Now they hope that by sharing their story they can offer hope to other couples facing the same agonising decision.Mr Foster, a civil servant, said: "We were told that the statistics were 95 per cent against her survival."We felt that was a five per cent chance of life, which was better than nothing."Ultimately, we felt it was the baby's decision. We had to give her a chance to fight for her life - and she did."Experts at Newcastle General Hospital and the city's Royal Victoria Infirmary said that if the baby did survive it would be born with serious disabilities such as Edwards, Down or Turner syndrome.Feeling strong enough to cope with whatever was thrown their way, the parents decided to continue with the pregnancy.Mrs Foster said: "I was devastated, concerned about my health and if the baby was suffering, but we were told that wasn't the case so carried on."Every day I wondered whether she had died inside."In September, Mrs Foster had a scan and was told the fluid on Rosie's chest had disappeared. Consultants said they had never seen such a remarkable recovery.On December 15, Rosie was delivered by caesarean section at Darlington Memorial Hospital and doctors found she had Turner syndrome.The parents plan to set up a website to share their story with other families searching for hope.

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