At 20 weeks pregnant, Keely Lorae and her husband Daniel received shattering news from doctors.
The couple’s unborn baby was diagnosed with a congenital heart problem and the chances of survival were grim.
“That was really devastating for us, we went through half the pregnancy thinking that everything was OK , and then to be told it’s not was a really hard thing for us to have to go through,” Keely said.
After the loss of their baby, Keely said it took “a long time” for her to get to a place where she felt ready to try again.
“Early to mid last year, we found out we were pregnant, it was scary and it was exciting and obviously we had a lot of extra tests to make sure she was OK.”
Keely gave birth to her daughter Evelyn in April and describes the first time she held her baby as surreal.
“With all the past experience and trauma in the back of my mind … when I saw her for the first time I was like, ‘oh, thank goodness, she’s okay, she’s all right,” Keely said.
This Sunday, May 8, Keely will celebrate Mother’s day as a new mum.
“I think it’ll be more special this year, because I’ll have my little one, I’ll definitely be seeing my own mum and my maternal grandmother is still alive too … there’ll be like four generations of us together,” Keely said.
Fatima Halloum
