by Whitney Barthel posted in Parenting

"She kept using the phrase 'to not prolong suffering.?" It's the first thing Nadine Shelley speaks of when asked about the birth of her son Brayden. She, of course, is talking about her doctor's recommendation that she abort her baby.

Early in this Utah mom's pregnancy, she and her husband Garrett got news that is every parent?s worst nightmare -- something was wrong. Nadine?s amniotic fluid was leaking and she was far from her due date.
Nadine is a nurse and knew this was terrible news, as her son was weeks away from being considered viable. Nadine wrote in a Facebook post that would later go viral, "He could be born with severe mental and physical disabilities. He would most likely be born blind, if he was born at all." The Shelley?s doctor gave baby Brayden a 15 percent chance of survival and urged the couple to terminate the pregnancy. Nadine Shelley wrote, ?As a nurse, I appreciated what she was telling me. I understood why she would recommend it.?
However, despite Brayden?s grim diagnosis, Nadine couldn?t stop thinking of something Harry Potter was called throughout his book series: "The Boy Who Lived."

Maybe it was a sign" The couple decided to wait it out and hope for the best.
Baby Brayden was born 5 weeks later at only 27.6 weeks gestation. He was whisked away to the NICU where he spent the next 76 days.

Against all odds, Brayden is now a happy and healthy baby. And now, 1 year after be...