It will be interesting to see how many pro-abortion bloggers hate on the family of Karla Perez. Few things make them angrier than a family’s decision to keep a pregnant woman on life support when she has been diagnosed as brain dead.
And baby Angel is alive precisely because Ms. Perez’s family urged doctors at Methodist Women’s Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska to give Ms. Perez’s son every chance to survive. And because of the skill and dedication of over 100 doctors and nurses.
In early February Perez was 22 weeks pregnant and at home when, as Dr. Todd Lovgern told WOTV, she
noticed she had a headache and needed to lay down and take a nap. She woke up later that evening around 10:30 or 11 and noticed the headache had become progressively worse and told her family she needed to go to the hospital.’
Tragically, a CT scan revealed that the “headache” was an intracranial hemorrhage–a severe brain bleed. When Perez was diagnosed as brain dead, her son was too young to survive outside the womb.
“And so if we were going to give baby Angel any chance of survival we were going to have to prolong Karla’s pregnancy as long as possible with the minimum being possibly 24 weeks,” said Dr. Lovgern.
Knowing that when the baby came his delivery would need to be by C-section, Perez was kept in the hospital. During the course of the next seven weeks, more than 100 doctors and nurses would monitor Angel’s growth.
Miraculously, Angel continued to grow until April 4 when his mother’s body began to shut down. Medics performed an emergency caesarean section.
At birth baby Angel tipped the scales at just 2lbs, 12.6oz. He was rushed to a special neonatal intensive care unit and was fitted with a breathing tube.
“Our team took a giant leap of faith,” said Sue Korth, vice president of Methodist Women’s Hospital. “We were attempting something that not many before us have been able to do. I couldn’t be more proud of our medical team and the more than 100 staff who were a part of her care. Karla’s loss of life was difficult, but the legacy she has left behind is remarkable.”
‘Angel’s condition remains very stable,” added Dr. Brady Kerr of the hospital neonatal intensive care unit. “He has no severe complications. At this time he is still in an incubator and has a feeding tube – he is not yet feeding by mouth. It’s hard for us to know the long-term outcome due to the rarity of the situation, but we are cautiously optimistic.’
Berta–Angel’s grandmother–expressed gratitude and confidence.
“Thank God,” she told reporters. “He’s doing very well. He’s growing and I’m very happy about it. I come to see him every day. I get him dressed, I give him baths, I change him, I hold him. I have no words for the attention and how they took very good care of my daughter.”
Daniel Miller is responsible for nearly all of National Right to Life News' political writing.
With the election of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency, Daniel Miller developed a deep obsession with U.S. politics that has never let go of the political scientist. Whether it's the election of Joe Biden, the midterm elections in Congress, the abortion rights debate in the Supreme Court or the mudslinging in the primaries - Daniel Miller is happy to stay up late for you.
Daniel was born and raised in New York. After living in China, working for a news agency and another stint at a major news network, he now lives in Arizona with his two daughters.
