A father remembers having to choose between his wife and a preterm child, which he described as an impossible choice.
Michael Gerry Fotheringham McConnell, 33, of Scotland, found himself in an inconceivable predicament last year when his fiancée Stephanie Brown, 29, began leaking amniotic fluid at 18 weeks pregnant and was sent to emergency surgery.

Following the initial health concern and additional testing, doctors found that the baby’s heart was “abnormally large,” and referred the pregnant woman to a cardiac specialist.

Stephanie Brown and Michael Gerry Fotheringham McConnell were tragically killed.

Unfortunately, the scan revealed that the baby’s lungs were too small for his body and out of proportion to the rest of his organs.

The happy couple, who experienced a miscarriage a few years before, were told that their baby would not survive to full term.

Brown was advised to continue her pregnancy for another six weeks in order for their baby, Mickey, to have the best chance of survival. She was then transferred to Wishaw General Hospital, where she gave birth.

Stephanie Brown and her newborn son, Mickey, who tragically died on July 24.

The already dreadful situation was worse when McConnell received a call from the hospital informing him that the umbilical cord had ruptured.

The impossible question was then addressed to McConnell.

“The doctor who was about to deliver me pulled me aside and said, ‘If push comes to shove, who survives?'” ‘Mom or child?'” McConnell told Jam Press.

McConnell stated he was “terrified” when he “saw all these persons and their faces,” which informed him of his partner’s “severity.”

Mickey weighed less than a bag of sugar when he was born.

“When I found out my fiancée’s life was in danger, my heart stopped—all I cared about at the time was her safety,” he told me.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, the condition must be addressed immediately so that the fetus does not exert pressure on the chord and cut off oxygen.

Even after this, they were determined to have their baby boy, despite the fact that many people informed them that he would not survive.

“Everyone was doubtful about his survival,” he went on to say, “particularly because the weeks leading up to his delivery were a great strain on Stephanie’s body,” as he put it.

The father explained how difficult it was to have to pick between his fiancée and his child.

“I’ve been by her side through the darkest and scariest periods of my life, and with her losing fluid and having to carry my baby in her body for six weeks — it was physically and psychologically difficult,” she added.

Because the placenta became entangled in Brown’s stomach and bladder, a caesarian birth was the only choice for their child, who weighed only 1 pound and 3 ounces when he was born in November 2021.

“There were so many people in the theatre, and my heart was in my mouth the whole time,” she added.

When the infant was only a few months old, he began to get worse.

“They removed my son from the operating table, and everything was calm—all I remember is the first time he used his voice.” We were amazed by how clear and loud everything was. “The relief was real at the time,” McConnell added.

Mickey was in the neonatal critical care unit for three months before being transferred to a clinic closer to home. His health began to deteriorate as physicians planned to move him.

“The doctors in the hospital were calling it “blue turns’ and saying he may not survive,” the heartbroken father claimed, adding that there was a “lack of communication” and that “we felt horribly let down by the treatment he got at this time.”

A GoFundMe account has already been created to help the family through this difficult time.
“We still don’t know what’s causing his worsening,” he continued.

When Mickey’s body got too big for his lungs, doctors said he was getting close to the end of his life.

On July 24, the newborn boy died in his mother’s arms.

“He was the brightest star I’ve ever known,” McConnell said in a tribute to his young son. “I’ll never forget the impact my boy made on this earth, he truly was a warrior.” “He was in pain, but now he’s at peace; shine brightly, my small warrior.”

“Rest in peace, our lovely son.”