Claudine and Dave Fitzgibbon always planned for a big family. But after giving birth to a healthy girl in 2013, those plans went awry.
Over the next three years they fell pregnant three times and each time their unborn baby was found to have spina bifida, a congenital defect of the spine that can lead to serious problems with mobility and brain function.
They reluctantly discontinued the first two pregnancies and by the time of the third diagnosis they were shattered. In desperation they turned to their doctor, asking: “Is there nothing else that we can do?”
This time the doctor held out a sliver of hope.
A ground-breaking in-utero surgical procedure had just been performed in Australia for the first time. While not a cure, it had been found in the US to improve the quality of life for babies suffering spina bifida.
Australian Story has followed the couple over the course of their journey.
Claudine became the second person in Australia to undergo the complex operation and they now have their desperately wanted baby, Harvey – the miracle they prayed for.
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