We often hear the saying, “a mother’s love knows no bounds," and Carrie DeKlyen, a resident of Michigan, was the living embodiment of the adage. How? Carrie chose her baby over chemotherapy, which could have possibly cured her of brain cancer that was detected months ago. Carrie’s brain tumor was detected in March after she started suffering from severe headaches and vomiting.
According to the Washington Post, following surgery in April, it was found that the mother of five suffered from an aggressive type of brain cancer called glioblastoma. Carrie and her husband Nick DeKlyen also found out at the time that she was eight weeks pregnant.
The couple had two options in front of them. They could go for chemotherapy and prolong Carrie's life, or possibly even cure the brain cancer, but that would mean that Carrie would have to end her pregnancy. Alternately, they could continue with the pregnancy but the mother would not survive long enough to see the baby's birth.
Mother chooses unborn baby over brain cancer chemotherapy
The DeKlyens opted to continue the pregnancy even if that meant Carrie would not be able to see the child. Carrie underwent the first tumor removal surgery in April and after her second surgery, the couple returned to their home knowing full well that the 37-year-old mother of five had only a few months of her life left.
However, by June end, the tumor grew back and this time doctors declared that it was inoperable. By the middle of July, Carrie’s condition worsened and she suffered a massive stroke from a fluid build up in the brain.
At the time of the stroke, she was 19 weeks pregnant. The doctors put her on life support and did all they could to keep the baby growing inside her womb.
It was just a breathing machine and feeding tube that was keeping both the mother and child alive. At 24 weeks, the doctors announced that the baby had reached the necessary weight needed to survive the birth. By this time, the doctors had to remove part of her skull relieve the excessive fluid build up in her brain. On Wednesday, September 6, Life Lynn DeKlyen, Carrie and Nick’s daughter was born at 5:30 PM, through Cesarean section.
Carrie DeKlyen dies after giving birth to baby daughter
Following the birth of their daughter, Nick decided to detach the life support from his wife, saying that she had suffered enough pain in the past five months. In his last words to her, he promised that he would meet her in heaven. Carrie DeKlyen died early on Saturday, September 9 at University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor, surrounded by her family. Carrie is survived by her husband Nick and her five children, with the youngest aged two and the oldest aged 18.
