BELLMORE, NEW YORK — As Christine Darby watches her daughter Gemma, 3, happily playing with a doll in the living room of their Nassau County home on a recent morning, her heart is filled with a mother’s love.

“She’s my daughter, so I think everything she does is great,” Darby admitted with a smile.

But always uppermost on her mind is the relentless pressure she faced during her pregnancy from doctors and other medical professionals who were urging her to get an abortion. Darby, who is Catholic, wouldn’t hear of it.

Darby and Gemma, who will turn 4 on Jan. 30, could serve as symbols for the pro-life movement in the U.S.

During her pregnancy in 2019, Darby and her husband, Peter Dadone, received devastating news. Their baby daughter was diagnosed with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), commonly known as brittle bone disease. Patients with OI have an inadequate amount of collagen, the protein that strengthens the bones. 

Patients with certain types of OI die shortly after birth and some survive only to age 10. The lucky ones live to adulthood. For example, Dadone has OI, but a mild form of it, and he has been able to live a normal life.

Depending on the severity of the OI, patients can have physical deformities, including a weakened skull that makes the head appear abnormally large, stunted growth, lack of mobility that leaves them dependent on wheelchairs, and underdeveloped lungs.

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Almost immediately after the diagnosis, doctors, nurses, and other health care providers started painting a grim picture for Darby, telling her the baby probably would die shortly after she was born. They informed her that even if the baby girl survived, she faced a hard life in which she would have to use a wheelchair and be forced to undergo numerous operations.

“I was really pushed to have an abortion,” Darby recalled through tears. “I just couldn’t do it. I heard her heartbeat. I felt her kicking. She was a part of me, and I just felt that she deserved a chance to grow and have a chance to have a quality of life.”

However, the pressure from the medical community intensified. As her pregnancy progressed, Darby would get phone calls every Monday morning at 7:30 from someone asking her if she was sure about wanting to carry the pregnancy to term.

“He had to take off from work,” she said, pointing to her husband, “because I would be having a full-blown panic attack.”

“It’s not a great way to start your week,” Dadone said.

At one point, someone asked Darby why she wanted to go ahead with her baby shower, the person telling her that since the baby would likely die, she would have no use for the baby gifts.

Throughout the ordeal, Darby and Didone relied on their Catholic faith to get them through.

The couple prayed a lot and were grateful when others prayed for them. Darby, who grew up in Queens and is a graduate of The Mary Louis Academy, was alerted by a friend that parishioners of St. Helen Church in Howard Beach had started a prayer circle for her and her baby. 

Darby and Dadone were so grateful that when Gemma was born, they decided to have her baptized at St. Helen’s.

To be sure, Gemma has had many struggles in her young life. She has many of the characteristics of OI children, such as an enlarged head, poor mobility, and brittle bones. She has undergone several operations and will likely have to endure many more.

But she’s a happy, lively child with full cognitive abilities. “I like Cinderella,” she said, answering a question about her favorite princess. 

She recently told her parents that she wants to become a teacher when she grows up. She attends a school that is able to cater to her needs and takes wheelchair dancing lessons at Dancing Dreams, a program for children with disabilities.

“She counts numbers. She knows her alphabet, her colors, letters, everything. And she’s just thriving,” Darby explained. “I’m so proud of how much work she does every single day. It takes her so much more effort than just the typical child.”

Even though she uses a wheelchair, Gemma still makes an effort to move by straightening her back and stretching her little arms.

The couple is glad they didn’t opt for abortion. “I know that we made the right decision,” Dadone said. 

His advice to parents who find themselves in a similar situation? “I would just say let things go the way they’re meant to go,” he said.

Darby said she feels gratitude every time she looks at her daughter. “She’s here and she’s smart. She’s going to be someone in the world. And I’m happy I gave her that chance,” she added.

A caring friend set up a Go Fund Me page to help raise money for the family to buy Gemma a specialized wheelchair. If you’d like to help donate visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/gemmas-life-with-oi

Prevalence of osteogenesis imperfecta

1 in 20,000 babies

Symptoms

Physical deformities

Stunted growth

Lack of mobility

Underdeveloped lungs

Source: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development