A new baby born with his legs fused together resembling a mermaid tail passed away 24 hours later in daddy’s arms after being given baptism.
Joseph Shaw lived for just 24 hours but it was long enough to make a big impact on his parents’ lives.
Stefan Shaw and his former partner, Chelby, from Derby, England, were aware that they would never be able to meet their little boy alive because at the 20-week ultrasound, the doctors informed them that their baby didn’t have his kidneys and all of the fluid was gone from the amniotic sac.
But God had a different plan and gave them time to spend with their son before he passed away. “We thought the worst but he made it three months more,” Stefan said. “Doctors were shocked he survived so long.”
Joseph Shaw was born seven weeks early via emergency c-section and he didn’t have kidneys, bowels or genitals and his legs were fused together. “When I got to the hospital they said that from the waist down Joseph was like a fish,” Stefan recalled.
But baby Joseph was alive and breathing, and as dad Stefan Shaw looked down at his precious child, born with a mermaid tail, he felt nothing but overwhelming love. “I had never seen a baby like my son,” he says. “He was like a mermaid, he was a unique, beautiful baby boy.”
Joseph’s condition continued to deteriorate and his parents knew they had very little time left with him. So, with help from medical staff, they made sure he was baptized. “They had to pump air into him while he was being christened to keep him alive,” Stefan said.
The moment of truth arrived when they had to bid farewell to their bundle of joy, Stefan said, “We stood around our miracle baby, had him christened for his last precious moments before we had to let him go,” Stefan Shaw recalled. “While I was holding him they took the tube out of his mouth and he died in my arms. It was very heartbreaking and extremely hard to let go of something that meant the world to you.”
The first-time-dad and mom were able to get over the most difficult time of their lives just because of faith, they are comforted knowing they will get to see him again one day. “Next time I see you son is when I come to Heaven as well,” Stefan wrote on Facebook. “Daddy will always love you son.”
Our hearts go out to this family who are going through a terrible heartbreak in their lives, let us keep them in our prayers for the peace and comfort of God to overtake them.
