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A 31-year-old woman in Singapore gave birth to a baby girl against the odds.
Queenie (not her real name) was diagnosed with leukaemia when she was just one-and-a-half years old -- and that was just the start of her health woes.
She had complications during her pregnancy and after her delivery.
The baby is now 18 months old.
Health woes
Queenie was diagnosed after she had problems with her eyes, along with bruising on her limbs.
She underwent chemotherapy and her condition improved.
However, the multiple rounds of chemotherapy caused her to suffer from heart failure, and she was put on long-term medication.
In 2016, she got to know her partner online.
They tied the knot in 2019 and decided to try for a child a year later.
However, things didn't go as planned.
Problems faced during pregnancy
Maintaining that the decision to have a baby was not an impulsive one, the husband explained that they discussed the matter with doctors before coming to a consensus.
What they did not expect was that Queenie would encounter multiple health problems during the pregnancy.
When she was about three months pregnant, she started experiencing shortness of breath along with other symptoms.
Her health deteriorated when she was four months along, and had to be hospitalised for the rest of her pregnancy, which was about three months.
Queenie eventually gave birth when she was 28 weeks along.
According to HealthHub, a baby is considered full term at 37 weeks.
Her husband explained: "I prioritised my wife's life and decided to [let doctors] induce birth early. We would have been willing to accept [the reality] if our baby had problems after it was born."
Their daughter only weighed 700g at birth.
Rocky path
Queenie went through nine rounds of treatment and surgery after giving birth and would slip in and out of consciousness.
She was placed under observation at the National University Hospital (NUH) for six months, while her baby was warded at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) for three months.
Determined to lead a normal life, she opted to implant a left ventricular assist device (LVAD), which is offered by the National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS) to patients with advanced heart failure and are waiting for an organ transplant.
Even though she is still on the waiting list for a heart transplant, their family is hopeful for the future they will have together.
Top image via Unsplash