Dad shares his ‘sadness and joy’ at arrival of his son born to brain-dead mum
Miguel Angelo Fario’s partner suffered a brain haemorrhage and spent four months on life support, during which her unborn child continued to grow inside her
A DAD has told of his “sadness and joy” following the arrival of his son born to his brain-dead mother.
Miguel Angelo Fario, 30, told how doctors were about to switch off mum-to-be Sandra Pedro’s life support after she suffered a devastating brain haemorrhage when they found his baby’s heartbeat.
After nearly four agonising months, Lourenco Salvador was born on June 7 by caesarean section at 32 weeks, weighing 5lb 3oz.
Speaking about the moment he heard his son was still alive, Miguel told the : “They did a test and found a heartbeat and the doctor said, ‘Never in my life have I had a dead person with a live baby inside of her.’
“I was dealing with the sadness of her death and then there is this joy inside.
"It was strange. I hoped my son would survive but I thought it was a long shot. It was a long time to wait, to get to 32 weeks.
“Every day I feared the phone call saying he hadn’t made it.”
Sandra took ill with a severe headache on February 20 after an evening with friends, telling Miguel she feared she was dying.
He explained: “At around 5am she said, ‘I’m tired and going to bed.’ Then I heard her crying in the bathroom and went to see.
“She said, ‘I’m going to die. My head feels like it is going to explode.’
“She was really crying hard. I put a cold towel on her head and lifted her to the bed.
“Our friends didn’t know what to do so I told them to call the ambulance. I kept talking to her but her eyes were rolling.
“When the paramedics arrived she was almost unconscious.”
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Hours later Sandra was declared brain-dead at San Jose Hospital in Lisbon, Portugal.
She was 17 weeks pregnant and doctors were sure the baby would be lost.
Funeral arrangements for Sandra were already underway when her unborn baby’s heartbeat was suddenly detected.
Miguel, from Alverca, near Lisbon, said it was “scary” how close doctors came to pulling the plug on Sandra and baby Lourenco.
While tragic Sandra, 37, lay hooked to a ventilator to keep her alive, doctors and nurses spent 107 days nurturing the foetus, singing songs and cuddling him.
As Miguel waited to hear of the birth of his son, he told how he could barely speak he was shaking so hard.
He recalled: “When I saw him I couldn’t stop smiling. He was a handful with black hair.
“He was lying on the side looking really relaxed.”
As little Lourenco was born prematurely, he is being cared for in an incubator, meaning Miguel is yet to touch or hold his son.
But that doesn’t stop him feeling over-joyed at the sight of his first child.
He told the Mirror: “I can’t stop smiling and laughing at him especially when he’s yawning and stretching. He makes a frowny face.
“I can’t get over how big he is. I was expecting him to be quite little. He is a bit yellow but they have given him a special light. He’s always moving around and kicking his feet just like me and his mum.”
Miguel, who works for a car parts company, confessed he was concerned at first about his parental rights and whether he would get time off to care for him.
He was told Lourenco could be disabled and feared he would struggle to provide for him as a single dad – sparking a row with his son’s maternal grandparents.
They have reportedly approached lawyers to get full custody of Lourenco, claiming Miguel had said he couldn’t look after him.
But the tot is healthy and Miguel has been granted paternity leave and is now eager for the family to stop fighting.
He explained: “I never said I did not have the conditions to look after my son, only that it was going to be hard as I am a single dad. I did not even know how to change a nappy.
“I am not so scared now as I have my family and my sister and uncle’s support.
“I told Sandra’s parents that once I started work again they could take care of Lourenco during the day.
“We all need to stop this fighting as Lourenco needs love and to be cherished by all the family.”
Since Sandra’s death Miguel discovered she was suffered from kidney cancer, a condition she had already beaten 10 years earlier.
Her sister Anabela, 39, said she was determined to continue the pregnancy despite knowing it was risky.
She said: “She didn’t want to interrupt the pregnancy. She really wanted this child. She gave her life for him.”