Dr. Hossam Badrawi Official Website
Exiting into Life
By Jado Hossam
Can a person struggle and fight for their life before they enter it? Can they continue to face challenges for several days after arriving in this world?
And if it does happen, who is it? What will it be like? It has already begun accumulating its own experiences even before its existence.
It is my grandson, the son of Hassan Hossam Badrawi, who began facing difficulties from the 70th day of his creation inside his mother’s womb when doctors decided, at the tenth week of his life, that he was at risk and that his growth was delayed by two weeks. The uterine artery that nourishes him was experiencing high blood pressure, and the placenta, which connects him to his mother, was struggling to deliver nutrients to him.
There was doubt about the presence of chromosomal abnormalities in chromosomes 13, 17, and 23, and the possibility of death was high. Would the father and mother take the risk of keeping him, or would they continue to search for the truth?
The family chose to research and investigate, with a sample of fetal cells confirming with a high percentage that his chromosomal structure is normal. However, the mother was at risk of developing pregnancy-induced hypertension, high blood pressure, and diabetes, with the possibility of losing his life inside the womb and experiencing miscarriage or extremely premature birth.
Monitoring the fetus’s growth began every two weeks, along with conducting heart monitoring and precise measurements, as well as another sample of the amniotic fluid around him. Each hospital visit carried possibilities of complications, measurements, analyses, and decisions to continue or terminate the pregnancy. All the experts agreed that if this fetus reaches the twenty-fourth week of age, it would be an achievement, and if it surpasses the twenty-eighth week, it would be a miracle.
And Between Possibilities and Measurements, This Fetus Fought All Probabilities and Reached the Thirty-Fourth Week, Increasing in Weight Despite Feeding Difficulties. Every 100 grams of weight gain gave us hope. If his weight exceeded one kilogram, his chances of survival would increase, even if doctors had to deliver him from the womb to the neonatal intensive care unit. (Babies are typically born with an average weight of 3.3 kilograms at forty weeks.)
In the struggle of my grandson with the risks, his weight reached one and a half kilograms, and it was time for him to exit into life because staying inside the womb posed a greater danger to his life than being outside his mother’s womb.
Between pain, suffering, anxiety, and tension in the last two months, and with the amazement of experts witnessing his continued growth, day by day and week by week, gaining weight gram by gram, this warrior emerged into life in the thirty-fourth week, healthy and safe, praise be to God. He was small in weight but surpassed all negative expectations and terrifying possibilities on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, surrounded by overflowing emotions and love that emerged even before seeing him.
His life began before the beginning of his life. What a fighter he is, blessed with determination from his parents and positive energy from our prayers, and mercy from God, for the opportunity of his existence.
After his birth, a new phase of challenges began with uncertain medical assumptions about rare diseases affecting his nerve exits from the spinal column. However, it was later confirmed that these assumptions were not true, after the family endured a whole day of fear, doubts, and the possibility of surgery for a child weighing one kilogram and four hundred grams.
This fetus, now born, along with his parents and all of us with them, went through tests and choices that all ended in favor of his existence, thanks be to God.
There must be a reason for this existence in the world, and its purpose will be known in due time.
Welcome to the world, oh brave warrior. I understand and welcome the choice of “Kayan” as your name. The name signifies “existence” and “essence” in the Arabic language, derived from the root word “al-Kawn” (the universe). In English and Persian, it means king, warrior, and knight. So, welcome, my beautiful grandson, to life. You have come to brighten our days and add joy and happiness to our souls. You join my beautiful granddaughters Malik, Hiba Allah, and Sara, may God protect them, in creating the most beautiful gifts from God in our lives—birds that sing in our skies and music that delights our souls.
