- Kaila was told she would have trouble falling pregnant due to PMOS, but after a scary hospital trip due to severe pelvic pain, she found out she was pregnant
- Unfortunately, at a 12-week scan, doctors noticed, the baby’s leg was not developing as expected and advised he may require an amputation after birth
- Kaila mentally prepared herself for the worst, but when her little bub was born, she was met with a surprise
Here Kaila Marie Vella, 30, Blacktown, NSW, tells her story in her own words
It was December, 2024, and I’d been behind my desk working as a receptionist for a towing company, when I felt a stabbing in my pelvis.
I suffered from polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome diagnosis (PMOS) formerly known as PCOS – a hormone health issue that caused cysts on my ovaries – so I was used to pain.
But this time, the agony was unbearable.
I can’t handle this, I texted my fiancé Blake, then 30, before driving to Blacktown Hospital.
If it’s another cyst, I’m going back on birth control and not trying for kids again, I told Blake.
We’d been trying for a baby for eight years with no success – my doctors attributed it to my PMOS.
This seemed like another setback. I felt so defeated.
At hospital, I had scans and blood tests. After three hours, a doctor had shock news. ‘You seem to be pregnant. Did you know?’ he queried.
My jaw fell to the floor.
READ MORE: I was born without arms, so I learned to do life my own way
He said the hormone levels in my blood were high enough to confirm pregnancy, but he couldn’t see a foetus on the scan.
‘The pain could be due to an ectopic pregnancy,’ he suggested, explaining it’s where a baby grows outside the uterus.
My heart sank. I knew if that were true, it could result in life-threatening internal bleeding.
Would my journey be over before it had begun?
My pregnancy was marked high-risk, so I’d need to return to hospital every two days until doctors had a full picture of what was going on.
At home, I broke the news to Blake.
‘I’m pregnant,’ I said, but warned him our joy could be short lived.
Two weeks later, doctors confirmed that they could see a baby and I was about seven weeks along. Thankfully, it was in my uterus, meaning the pregnancy was viable.
Blake and I were thrilled.
At 10 weeks, I found out we were having a little boy, who we named Braxton.
READ MORE: Hero Henley: Born without bones
The next few weeks went smoothly, but at 12 weeks, I was at home when I noticed some spotting. Terrified I was losing the baby, I drove back to hospital.
A scan revealed there was something wrong. Our bub’s right leg wasn’t growing the same as the left. The ultrasound technician confirmed his right foot was much smaller and the legs were different lengths.
We were given options to consider, including amputating our baby’s leg after birth. It broke my heart, but we were given reason to be hopeful too.
Genetic testing failed to provide any answers as to the cause of Braxton’s limb issue, but doctors told us he was otherwise healthy.
‘We’ll love our son no matter what happens,’ Blake vowed, and I agreed.
We knew that if we decided to have his limb amputated, our boy would live a fulfilling life with prosthetics.
I was 24 weeks along and lying in bed when my waters suddenly broke.
‘It’s too soon,’ I fretted.
READ MORE: Izabella’s rainbow hand
Blake rushed me to Westmead Hospital, where I was transferred by ambulance to John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle, due to a bed shortage.
Incredibly, doctors said Braxton wasn’t in immediate danger and I was given medication to delay his arrival.
Then 11 days later, with Blake back in Sydney for work, I went into labour.
I was rushed in for an emergency caesarean, while Blake drove to be by my side. Just 15 minutes later, our baby boy was born, weighing 670g.
I didn’t get to hold him, as his lungs were under-developed and he was whisked straight to NICU.
Later that afternoon, Blake and I were finally able to see our son for the very first time.
‘He’s perfect,’ I said, watching his tiny chest rise up and down with each breath.
Tubes and wires snaked across him and he had an oxygen mask on his face.
As my eyes moved across his body I was shocked.
Braxton’s right leg was gone below the knee.
‘When your baby was in your womb, a loose piece of tissue within the uterus wrapped around his leg, cutting off circulation and stunting growth,’ a doctor explained. It was known as an amniotic band amputation, and meant his leg had fallen off while he was still inside me, and had dissolved.
Of course, I was deeply sad that my boy would grow without the use of one precious limb.
But I was also grateful he wouldn’t need to go through painful surgery.
Two months later, Braxton was transferred to Westmead. Meanwhile, Blake and I decorated his nursery with dinosaurs, toys and a plush cot.
Finally after 147 days in NICU, in October, 2025, we brought our baby home.
He was on oxygen for another four months at home, before he could breathe independently.
Realising how difficult it was to adjust his tiny clothes to his unique little frame, I was thrilled to find a lovely lady on Facebook named Barbara Vasilescu, who made garments specifically for children with a limb difference.
She now makes all of Braxton’s outfits and we couldn’t be happier with the work she does.
Today, Braxton is a happy, cheeky one-year-old who loves to play and babbles the word ‘Mumma’.
Unfortunately, he lives with chronic lung disease due to being born prematurely, but he is our miracle boy and I just know his future’s bright.
Share this post