This Woman Was Born With Nearly No Body Muscle, But She Defied Doctors To Carry A Baby To Term

When Cherise Sila was born, she had almost no body muscle. As a result, doctors believed that she’d never be able to get pregnant. However, in 2016, Sila defied the medical experts’ predictions by carrying a baby to term, and Sila has constantly beaten the odds throughout her life. Indeed, before she even entered the world, doctors warned her mom that she wouldn’t survive birth. Then, after Sila arrived successfully, experts said that she wouldn’t make it to one year old.

Still, even after Sila celebrated her first birthday, her medical team warned that she would never walk by the time that she was five. Though, the determined youngster had proved the professionals wrong yet again. People still continued to doubt her capabilities, however. Even though she had survived into childhood and mastered walking, for example, doctors claimed that Sila wouldn’t be suited to mainstream schools. They also said that she would be reliant on her mom and dad forever. And people having low expectations of her wasn’t Sila’s only worry as a child; she also found that she was constantly picked on.

“I always got bullied and no one understood what my capabilities were,” she told the Daily Mail in 2016.

The reason people doubted Sila’s abilities was because she was born with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita, also known as AMC. The condition typically decreases joint flexibility, however, symptoms vary widely in different people. For Sila, AMC meant that she had weak muscle tissues in her knees and elbows, which she could only bend slightly. Meanwhile, her shoulders barely moved, while her ankles and wrists were just about fused. She also had limited use of her toes and fingers. And by the time she was 22 years old, Sila had undergone over 20 operations, although the procedures hadn’t done a great deal to cure her symptoms.

But once again, Sila’s fighting spirit prevailed. In fact, Sila was determined to live as ordinarily as possible, and she eventually fell in love with Chris Sila, whom she married in 2015. Her husband also battles with health problems; in his case, a hereditary condition has led to a damaged lower spine. But neither Sila nor her partner were willing to let their health issues get in the way of life. So, the couple settled down in Wodonga, Australia, and began trying for a baby. Then, after a heartbreaking miscarriage, they fell pregnant again a few months after their wedding. Once more, Sila had smashed all the expectations people had had for her.

“The doctors told me I probably wouldn’t be able to have kids, although they didn’t give me a reason why not,” she revealed in her interview with the Daily Mail.

But even though Sila had managed to fall pregnant, medical experts still had their concerns. Since Sila’s petite frame stands at just four feet tall, they worried that her baby wouldn’t be able to grow as expected, for instance. However, despite the doctors’ reservations, Sila’s pregnancy progressed nicely. Then, when she reached 29 weeks, she relocated to Melbourne in order to be closer to the hospital just to be on the safe side. It was decided that Sila should give birth via cesarean section rather than risk a natural birth. In addition, doctors would have to put her to sleep for the delivery.

“At first the doctors wanted to do an epidural so I could be awake, but because my spine isn’t completely straight, they put me under general anesthetics,” Sila explained to the Daily Mail.

Then, in February 2016, Sila welcomed a little boy named Hayden. He weighed 5.5 pounds and measured 18.5 inches in length. Furthermore, he was perfectly healthy and showed no sign of any disability. As the months passed, though, Sila came to terms with the new challenges that motherhood had brought her. Because of the low muscle tissue in her arms and legs, the new mom was unable to reach out to her baby, which at times may have been heartbreaking for her. Sila revealed in her Daily Mail interview:

“Sometimes he’ll cry and I can’t reach him to pick him up. I have to wait for someone to pick him up for me. I love being a mom, but it does get frustrating at times because there are a lot of things I can’t do.”

As a consequence, while Sila can’t change Hayden’s diaper, she nevertheless needs help lifting his legs. Thankfully, though, her husband is at hand to support her and Hayden. Sila’s carer also visits her five times each week for three-hour periods. Revealing some of the things she still struggles with, Sila said to the Daily Mail:

“When he was smaller, our carer would hold Hayden in the bath so I could bathe him. But now that he’s big enough to sit in shallow water in a full-size tub, I can’t bend my knees enough to get down and wash him myself.”

However, despite the challenges she faces, Sila is keen to stress that she’s a perfectly capable mother.

“People mistake my condition for a disease or intellectual disability, but that’s not the case. I’m just a disabled mom who has to lower the handlebar on the pram, that’s it.”