Sheree Psaila, 22, wasn’t expected to live.
When she was born, she was immediately diagnosed with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita, a medical condition where the patient is born with their joints constrained and restricted to a particular position. For Psaila, this also meant that her body wasn’t properly supported by muscles.
Over time, Psaila underwent over 20 different surgeries, in hopes of alleviating her condition and giving her a chance to live a normal life – but nothing helped.
Still, Psaila stunned her doctors and defied all odds by surviving, not just past her first birthday, but to become a mother as well.
Psaila and her husband, Chris, experienced a miscarriage about a year ago, but were determined to have a baby together, so they kept trying.
Although all of Psaila’s doctors feared for her life, given her weakened muscular frame, once Psaila became pregnant, everything proceeded smoothly. She is only four feet tall, but her son, Hayden, developed as expected and on schedule.
Hayden was eventually born via C-section weighing about 6 pounds and measuring 18 inches, without any disabilities.
The family couldn’t be happier together, but Psaila still experiences some frustrations as a mother, particularly with her condition.
I love being a mum, but it does get frustrating at times because there are a lot of things I can't do,' Ms Psaila said.
“I can change his nappy, but it takes a lot longer and I need assistance because I can't lift his legs up,” she explained. “And when he was smaller, our carer would hold Hayden in the bath so I could bathe him, but now that he's big enough to sit in shallow water in a full-sized tub, I can't bend my knees enough to get down and wash him myself.”
What is, perhaps, the worst part for Psaila is her inability to pick her son up when he cries. “Sometimes he'll cry and I can't reach him to pick him up. I have to wait for someone to pick him up for me,” she said.
But in spite of all these setbacks, Psaila is determined to live a full life as a mother and refuses to let her condition diminish her quality of life in any way.
