North Las Vegas girl born prematurely, doctors not hopeful

The baby girl weighed less than 1 pound at birth.

Her eyes were fused shut. Her velvety skin appeared almost transparent. A large breathing tube, too big for her nose and mouth, somehow pumped the necessary oxygen into her tiny lungs as she took her precious first breaths.

Nine days later, she had heart surgery and numerous blood transfusions.

Doctors at Summerlin Hospital told Gary and Karen Manuel that their newborn daughter, Sadie Ann, probably wouldn’t survive. At 23 weeks into the pregnancy, the North Las Vegas couple were forced to have their baby girl early or risk losing her.

Sadie Ann was born Sept. 9, 2010. Her due date was supposed to be Jan. 1.

Dr. Paul Wilkes of Desert Perinatal Associates delivered Sadie Ann and believes she is one of the smallest babies to be born in the state.

Doctors had to completely cut through the uterus and lift out Sadie Ann’s tiny body.

“When I opened up the uterus and picked that baby up, it was like when you cut an avocado and take out the pit,” Wilkes said. “Her uterus was so small. I opened it up like the pages of a book, reached in and lifted that baby out of there like an injured bird. I scooped her up with one hand.”

The couple tried for five years to have children, but it was physically impossible. They relied on in vitro fertilization to have Sadie Ann. There were two embryos. One took, and the other didn’t. Complications included two blood clots inside of the placenta that compromised the placenta wall. Sadie Ann’s detachment would have been sooner had it not been for the other embryo.

The 34-year-old mother hemorrhaged, losing so much blood that she and her husband, along with the nurse, didn’t think it was possible for either baby to survive.

“This is exceptional that a baby that size with that many problems from conception to the time of delivery would survive,” said Wilkes, who has been delivering high-risk babies for nine years.

But it was as if one unborn child was sacrificing its life so that the other might live.

“It was very nerve-racking, very stressful,” Karen Manuel said. “But we relied a lot on our faith and that she was meant to be with us. We knew she was supposed to be here, and we kept our faith alive the whole time. We kept believing and had faith — that got us through all of it.”

Despite the difficult pregnancy, Sadie Ann is a healthy 7 -month-old. She now weighs more than 14 pounds, an average weight for a child her age. She takes no medication, and she uses oxygen only when she goes to sleep at night.

Her developmental skills are understandably a few months behind, although they continue to rapidly improve, Karen Manuel said.

This will be her first official Mother’s Day.

“I’m just so happy I’ve got my little chunky monkey home,” she said. “She’s doing so good. I can’t even tell you how full my heart is with love and how blessed we are. I would do it all over again to have that little girl in the swing right now.”

But there were moments where she admits that depression set in.

“A lot of people have asked me how I could handle it the way I was handling it, and I tell them I have my moments,” she said. “But really, I just have to go with my faith in the Lord. It is what it is, and I can’t change it. So if I lie down on the floor and have a tantrum, it’s not going to do anything. I’m focused on being there for my daughter and my husband and (helping) us get through this.”

For a baby who once relied on a feeding tube and underwent major surgeries, Gary Manuel said his “miracle baby” is thriving.

“She’s a chunky baby now,” the 48-year-old father beamed. “We were doing whatever it took to keep her alive. We were told she wouldn’t make it statistically, that she had a small chance. It’s such a humbling experience to look at the pictures. It really puts things into perspective. That baby was suffering and fighting for her life, and we stuck together through the process.”

He added that seeing a baby outside of her mother’s womb before her time was difficult and that there weren’t very many people to connect with about it.

Photos early on show Sadie Ann hooked up to many different tubes. In one picture, her father’s size 9 wedding band dangles like a bracelet from her arm.

In another photo, Sadie Ann’s inked footprints appear to be no larger than a quarter.

In yet another picture, Sadie Ann’s tiny hand appears to become lost in her mother’s.

The couple have held onto the Petri dish as a reminder of where their bundle of joy came from and the struggle for her survival.

“To see her now learning how to smile and see her hands — her visual impairment was a problem, too, but it’s gotten better recently,” Gary Manuel said. “Her heart is doing well, too. We’ve come a long way. We’ve gone through so much.”

Doctors said the “miracle baby” was feisty, constantly moving her hands and feet. It might have increased her chances for survival. Her birth cleared up Karen Manuel’s tubes, allowing the couple, against all odds, to have a natural pregnancy. They’re expecting a boy, Kaiden Wayne, on Oct. 19.

Doctors will have to take him out about three to four weeks early.

This pregnancy has had zero complications, Karen Manuel added .

“We want to give other people hope who might be going through the same things as us or who might be going through in vitro fertilization or having a preemie,” she said. “Keep your faith and love your baby.”

Contact Downtown and North Las Vegas View reporter Kristi Jourdan at kjourdan@viewnews.com or 383-0492.