A MUM who was told to terminate her baby after doctors found his brain growing outside his skull says that more than a year later he’s thriving.

Omobola Gordon, 25, had been having a normal pregnancy until her 20-week scan when staff struggled to measure the baby’s head.

1

The gap was causing an encephalocele – where brain tissue protrudes outside of the skull.

Omobola ,from Houston, Texas, was told that her baby could be born with some malformations to the brain or skull and offered a termination.

But the mum and her husband Checotah, 26, refused as they wouldn’t know for sure what was wrong with their baby until birth.

The couple had to create a palliative care plan in the final weeks of pregnancy just in case their child wouldn’t be able to survive after being born.

“I think that very often people think they are going through things alone and really it’s not until we speak up and people are more informed that they can then reach out and show you the love and support you didn’t know you needed.”

The stay-at-home mum, who is originally from London, says that she has spotted people staring at her son, but understands their curiosity and hopes that he can be an example that miracles do happen.

She said: “We do catch stares sometimes but I understand that people can be curious and shy to ask questions but we are always open to answering people’s questions about Oz and educating them as much as we can about his condition.

“We have had other special needs parents, some that we know and some that we don’t know, reach out to us and express their gratitude of us doing the right thing by Ozzie and being there for him and loving him the way we do.

“We really just hope to give him the best life possible.

“We hope for him to be accepted by society regardless of him lacking a major part of his brain and looking different.

“We hope that he can be a vessel to touching people’s hearts and being an example that miracles do happen and special children deserve just as much love and care as other children.

“I just want families that are going through the same thing we’ve experienced to know that even though it may feel like it, they are not alone.

“Personally, we believe that our faith in God and in ourselves to do the right thing is what helped us get through the dark and overwhelming times.

“Also for first time mums going through something scary like this, there are communities of special needs families and mums to reach out to and don’t be afraid to seek them out.

“Some of the people closest to us may never know what it’s like to become a special needs parents so it’s always good to try to seek emotional and mental support from those that have been down this road before.”