Teen Mother Dies After Delivering Son

Here’s a tearjerker. Jenni Lake of Idaho gave birth a month before her 18th birthday. As she was admitted to the hospital to deliver her baby she whispered to a nurse, “I’m done, I did what I was supposed to. My baby is going to get here safe.”

Only 12 days later, Lake died from the cancerous tumors on her brain and spine.

She started getting migraines when she was a 16-year-old sophomore. An MRI found a small mass and a trip to a hospital in Salt Lake City confirmed the problem. A biopsy led to a diagnosis of stage three astrocytoma. Even with treatment she was only given a 30 percent chance to survive two years. She was also told she might never be able to have children and that the radiation and chemo could essentially make her sterile.

By March of this year, though, the tumors were shrinking.

And then she found out she was 10 weeks pregnant. She couldn’t continue treatments while pregnant. Abortion was not an option for her. Everyone hoped that after the baby was born, they could return to treatment of the tumors.

The baby was named Chad Michael, after both of his grandfathers. The baby’s father has custody of the child. The Associated Press write-up of their story is worth a read.

Image via Thinkstock.

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