{"id":226333,"date":"2020-06-27T15:14:19","date_gmt":"2020-06-27T20:14:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=226333"},"modified":"2020-06-26T23:48:02","modified_gmt":"2020-06-27T04:48:02","slug":"evelynn-grace-22-hours-birth-impact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/evelynn-grace-22-hours-birth-impact\/","title":{"rendered":"Evelynn Grace’s family spent 22 hours with her after birth, and say ‘her impact… is still going’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Meghan Santel first learned that her daughter had anencephaly at a routine ultrasound. She\u2019s now sharing her experience through the book “22 Hours of Grace<\/a>,” written with her friend Jessica Wood.\u00a0<\/em>Discussing her book, Santel said<\/a>, \u201cI\u2019ll never forget that first ultrasound appointment. The tech was so chatty and nice. She showed us the baby\u2019s legs and heart; and then when she got to the head, she just stopped. It was like the air was sucked out of the room.\u201d<\/p>\n

What followed was the devastating news that their daughter would almost certainly die before or shortly after birth due to anencephaly<\/a>, a condition in which a baby is born missing parts of the brain or skull. Like many parents in this situation<\/a>, Santel and her husband were pressured to end their daughter\u2019s life in abortion instead of allowing her to live as long as she was naturally able. They refused. Santel says<\/a>, \u201cI wish that the me that felt so alone and lost in that moment knew the miracles that lay ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n