AlmaRosa Alarcon expected a routine delivery. She was 27 years old, healthy, and determined to give birth without an epidural. But when the doctor held up her daughter, Caterina, moments after she was born, he revealed tiny twisted feet, a condition known as clubfoot. Paramedics airlifted the newborn to a larger hospital, while Alarcon stayed behind, stunned.
“I didn’t think it was real,” she said. “I was in shock. I only spent like 20 minutes with her. It was one of the roughest days of my life.”
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Doctors diagnosed the baby with a birth defect known as “spina bifida” that can cause lifelong complications, including nerve damage, mobility challenges and hydrocephalus — a buildup of fluid in the brain.
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“I was living in darkness,” Alarcon said. “It was so horrible.”
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