REALLIFE
48
FOR
MOREREAL
LIFE
GO
TOPEOPLEMAGAZINE.CO.ZA
SMALLER THAN NORMAL;
NO LESS PRECIOUS
THIS
little boy was
born with a
smaller head
and brain
than is usual.
O
NE brave mom’s son was born
with a conditi on that means his
brain and head are much smaller
than other babies’ his age; but
she hopes people see past this diff erence
and treat him with the same love and
respect they would any other child.
Stay-at-home-mom Rachel Taylor, 37, and
fi nancial analyst Josh Taylor, 36, were
married in May 2006, and like many married
couples were really looking forward to
starti ng their own family.
But they struggled to conceive, and it
took them eight years of holisti c therapies
such as herbal medicati ons, acupuncture,
chiropracti c therapy and changes in their
diet such as removing gluten and going paleo
before Rachel fi nally fell pregnant with their
fi rst child, Cordelia, who is now four.
“I’ve been inferti le for 12 long years
combined. The fi rst stretch was eight
frustrati ng years,” says Rachel. “For the fi rst
few years, each new month would make me
frustrated. I cried a lot. My husband tried to
reassure me by telling me that he believed
we would one day be able to have kids. I wasable to stay positi ve for the most part. But as
the years went on, I gave up onthat hope.
It was extremely diffi cult to bearound friends
who were having babies.
I tried to be happy for them
but found myself withdrawing
more and more. I didn’t want
to be around children. I didn’t
want to be invited to baby
showers.
I’d get so angry when I’d
hear stories of child abuse.
I remember thinking, ‘If you
don’t want your children,
I’ll take them!’ It was so
unfair. I had always dreamt of
becoming a mother, and it’s so
hard to see that slip away and
not have any control.
I was elated when I found out
I was pregnant with Cordelia.”
Even more miraculous – on
March 18, 2019 Rachel gave birthto her
second child, Grayson. But therewere
complicati ons. The medical team noti ced
something was wrong, and delivered litt leGrayson as quickly as possible, resulti ng in a
speedy90-minute labour.
“Just before Grayson was born the doctors
noti ced he wasn’t breathing well,
and they needed to get him out
ASAP. They decided to try a vacuum
pump before resorti ng to a c-secti on
and that was enough. I was only in
labour for 90 minutes,” says Rachell.
“Sadly, this caused damage to his
head, and Grayson’s face was bruised
and swollen. However, the doctors
checked for any internal bleeding
and had no further concerns about
his overall health.”
At his two-week check-up Rachel
pointed out her worries about the
shape of Grayson’s head as it wasn’t
improving. Doctors performed
aCT scan to see if his skull was
prematurely fusing, which it wasn’t;
but aft er more tests an MRI scan
showed that his brain was smaller than normal,
andhewas diagnosed with microcephaly.
“The doctors were concerned about
craniosynostosis (where the sutures in the skullANANMRIM scan
showedshow that
his brain
was smaller
than normal,
and he was
diagnosed
withh
microcephaly.microcephaly.
Cordeliais sogentle
andlovingtoher
baby brother