Congratulations to Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler and her husband Daniel Beutler on the birth of their beautiful baby daughter! On July 15, Beutler gave birth to Abigail Rose Beutler at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland. Abigail’s birth is quite the miracle: she is the first baby to survive her fetal diagnosis formerly thought to be fatal.
Doctors diagnosed Abigail with Potter’s Syndrome caused by bilateral renal agenesis during the second trimester of pregnancy. Abigail’s consequent absence of kidneys, and accompanying lack of amniotic fluid, impeded her lungs from properly developing. Unfortunately, babies in this condition are typically born with undeveloped lungs and are unable to breath upon birth.
However, a team of specialized physicians at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore treated Herrera Beutler with amniofusion—a process in which a saline solution is injected into the womb in the place of amniotic fluid to allow for the baby’s lungs to develop. Although born at only 28-weeks gestation with no kidneys, Abigail continues to defy physicians’ expectations. “Despite Abigail’s prematurity, small size and life-threatening disease, she is doing well…Together with our colleagues in pediatric nephrology, we are cautiously optimistic about her future” said Dr. Louis Halamek, neonatologist at Packard Children’s Hospital. Although this treatment is far from a conclusive remedy for Abigail’s diagnosis, it certainly is a step in the right direction.
Thrilled to hold her newest bundle of joy, Herrera Beutler said, “We are grateful to the thousands who joined us in praying for a miracle. But most of all, we are grateful to God for hearing those prayers.” We share Jaime and Daniel’s delight in witnessing this little miracle, who already is teaching the world the power of perseverance and the value of life.
