Brain-dead woman gives birth to son in Canada
Doctors in Canada have delivered a frail but healthy baby boy from a brain-dead woman kept on life support for several weeks, the infant's father wrote in a blog post.
Dylan Benson, 32, had been keeping a running online account of his personal tragedy, recording his emotions as he grieved for his wife and prepared for the birth of his son.
Doctors, who had hoped to be able to keep the pregnancy going for 34 weeks, over the weekend delivered the boy via Caesarean section after 28 weeks.
"On Saturday evening, my beautiful and amazing son, Iver Cohen Benson, was born," Benson wrote in a blog post on Monday, shortly after the birth at a hospital in Victoria, British Columbia.
Benson added that the day after delivering the baby, doctors disconnected the life support equipment that had allowed his wife's body to incubate their unborn son. She died soon after.
"On Sunday, we had to unfortunately say goodbye to the strongest and most wonderful woman I have ever met," he wrote.
Robyn Benson, 32, collapsed in late December when she was 22 weeks pregnant, and was declared brain dead from a blood hemorrhage.
The moving online odyssey was followed by readers around the Internet, who donated Canadian $152,000 for Iver's medical bills.
Benson wrote that his son is doing well despite being several weeks premature, and posted a photo in which he is shown holding the tiny child in the hospital's intensive care ward.
The post was captioned "Immensely sad, but incredibly proud."
"Iver is healthy and is the cutest and most precious person I have ever met," Benson wrote.
"As to be expected, it will still be a bumpy ride for he and I as he continues to grow under the care of the wonderful staff at the hospital."
Amid the joy of his son's birth, the newly widowed Benson wrote that he grieves the loss of his wife.
"I miss Robyn more than words can explain," he said.
"She will live on forever within Iver, and in my heart.
© 2014 AFP
