Glad tidings of baby joy
A couple who lost their baby girl to a rare genetic disease have revealed their joy at expecting a new arrival.
Jaki Aitken and Alex Johnson, from Oban but now in New Zealand, have been told they are expecting a girl on February 5.
Their daughter, Rebecca, was just five months old when she died from spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).
Relatives and friends in Oban showed their support by raising more than £6,000 at a casino night in August in aid of the SMA Trust, which is dedicated to finding a cure.
The couple, who have been working hard to raise wider awareness of SMA, had been on a waiting list for fertility treatment when Jaki unexpectedly fell pregnant again.
It was an anxious time because there was a one in four chance the baby would have SMA and Jaki had to wait 12 weeks to have a test where they take a sample of placenta to send off for genetic testing. The results came back two days later with news that the baby had not inherited SMA but was a carrier like Alex and herself.
‘We were absolutely delighted knowing she is free from the condition and we were being given another chance at being parents. Her being a carrier is manageable, she will grow up a healthy normal baby, we just need to make sure she is aware of the condition and that when her time comes to have her own children, her partner is screened to check if they carry the same faulty gene.
‘It is bittersweet situation for us though. We are over absolutely the moon but it is also very emotional for us both,’ said Jaki.
Wednesday December 18 marked the first anniversary of Rebecca’s passing. ‘Being pregnant again so soon after her passing makes it a lot harder as my only connection with pregnancy before is Rebecca. However, Alex and I bumble along with our brave faces every day, but there isn’t a day that goes by where we don’t remember our beautiful daughter.
‘Many tears are still shed behind closed doors. Life does move on though and we have kept ourselves busy and made an effort to keep living our lives – work, studies, holidays, concerts, biking – but the pain never goes away. That will be with us forever.
‘Christmas time won’t quite be the same for us again – Rebecca will always be missing from it. However, at the same time she will always very much be a part of it. This little bubs is going to grow up knowing all about her amazing big sister, and although she is no longer with us in person, she will always be part of our lives.’
For more about The SMA Trust, go to smasupport.org.uk