Meagan proudly poses with her extraordinary son. Meagan Wight / mediadrumworld.com
By Liana Jacob
A beaming mother is showcasing her remarkable baby boy who experienced a stroke at birth and proved the neurologist wrong when they warned her that he might not wake up. The proud legal assistant, Meagan Wight (32), from Alberta, Canada, was only 32 weeks pregnant in February of this year when she went into preterm labor. Her due date was in April, but after an ultrasound scan, doctors discovered a bright spot on her baby Dominic’s liver and informed her that his heart was enlarged, leaving him with bright red spots all over his body that may never disappear.
Her husband, Jarrod, rushed to the hospital to meet her, and she was quickly taken to the delivery room for an emergency c-section. Upon first sight, she noticed that Dominic appeared pale and his skin was littered with spots. The following day, medical professionals informed them that their son’s liver was afflicted with an arteriovenous malformation (AVM), a complex cluster of irregularly formed arteries and veins that are at a greater risk of bleeding than normal vessels.
Meagan carefully held her baby, Dominic, in her arms. Doctors explained that an abnormal vessel in his liver was causing his heart to overwork, leading to high output cardiac failure. Further tests revealed that he also had an abnormal vessel in his right temporal lobe, which had ruptured, causing a stroke. The neurologist warned the worried parents that their baby might not survive, but Dominic, though on life support, continued to fight.
Despite the grim prognosis, Meagan and Jerrod cherished every moment with their son, taking photos, giving him a name, and tucking him into bed. When they made the difficult decision to remove Dominic’s life support, they expected him to pass away peacefully, but he surprised them by continuing to fight and is now a happy four-month-old baby. The family believes that the spots on Dominic’s body are unrelated to his other health issues.
Meagan explains that Dominic’s spots are not related to his stroke or AVM condition.
“My son was born through an emergency c-section, and when I first saw him, he was blue and his skin was covered in spots. He wasn’t crying,” she recalled.
“I feared the worst, but then he let out a small cry. I caught a glimpse of him as they rushed him to the neonatal intensive care unit, I told my husband to stay with him and reassured him that I would be okay.
Meagan affectionately refers to Dominic as ‘Spot’ because of the unique spots on his skin, a nickname shared by her family. Even though she was still feeling the effects of the spinal tap, she insisted on being taken to his side in a wheelchair. Upon arriving, she could barely see Dominic amidst all the medical equipment and wires. The doctors were puzzled by his condition, so every available machine was connected to monitor his every vital sign.
Meagan explains that she is attempting to instill self-acceptance in her daughter, Zoe, through the use of Dominic.
Meagan Wight from mediadrumworld.com shared, “The following day, I left the hospital against medical advice. Despite still holding onto the hope that it was just premature baby complications, I was about to face a devastating reality.
“We were informed right away that his liver had an AVM, leading to high-output cardiac failure. He was deeply jaundiced and there was fluid surrounding his lungs.