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At the age of 44, Pamela Donahue's pregnancy was classified as high-risk. However, Donahue faced far steeper obstacles than her age in her journey to carry her little girl to full term and deliver a healthy baby.
When she was just eight weeks pregnant with her third child, doctors at Newton-Wellesley Hospital discovered a potentially fatal aortic aneurysm in Donahue’s abdomen. Immediate surgery was necessary to avoid rupture. Although blood flow to Donahue's fetus would be temporarily interrupted during the complex surgical procedure, their lives were both at risk if nothing was done at all.
Donahue explained that, to her, terminating her pregnancy was never an option. “I wouldn’t have known about this aneurysm and wouldn’t have stood a chance if it wasn’t for my baby, so I knew right away that we were going through this together.”
According to Anthony Whittemore, MD, BWH's chief medical officer and the vascular surgeon who repaired Donahue’s aneurysm, “I had not faced this situation before. Not only was finding this type of aneurysm rare in someone who was otherwise in good health and without risk factors, Pamela’s aneurysm was large and expanding more rapidly than most.” He explained that these types of aneurysms usually occur in male smokers over age 65 and are typically five centimeters in diameter.
Beating the odds, Donahue’s surgery was a success. And, despite this scare early on in her pregnancy, the Donahue family welcomed little Hayley Elizabeth into the world at BWH three days before Mother’s Day.
Louise Wilkins-Haug, MD, director of the Center for Fetal Medicine at BWH and the high-risk obstetrician who provided Donahue antepartum care throughout the pregnancy, said, “Pamela not only had to face the usual hurdles women over 40 do, but she also had to undergo and recover from major surgery while pregnant.”
Looking back with her new baby daughter in her arms, Donahue reflects on her trying pregnancy, “God sent me Hayley as a blessing to save my life. Without her, I may not be here today.”
In an interview recently broadcast on New England Cable News, the Donahue’s oldest son, Matthew, called Hayley a “miracle.” “I love my little sister. She saved my mom,” he said.