Samuel - o menino operado com 21 semanas no útero de sua mãe

Samuel Alexander Armas - A Story of Life and Hope

Julie Armas was overjoyed. Although she and her husband Alex had previously suffered through two pregnancies resulting in miscarriages, she was pregnant again. "Maybe this time", she thought, "everything will be alright."

When Julie was 14 weeks pregnant, she went in for her scheduled examination with the Obstetrician. Herself an obstetrical nurse, Julie knew that this would be the visit for a sonogram, and they would get a first "close-up" of the expected child. Her face fell, and fear flooded her soul when she heard the dreaded words from her obstetrician: "there's a problem". The sonogram revealed that the baby had Spina Bifida, a condition that occurs when the backbone fails to form completely, and the spinal cord is exposed on the outside of the body. Spina Bifida results in a malformation of the brain stem and brain, and usually results (when carried to term) in a baby that is severely brain-damaged, and incapable of normal functions, including walking, crawling or sitting.

Julie was devastated. Her doctor, being a "practical" man, immediately suggested that Julie get an abortion, since the child could not develop normally, and it would put a severe strain on Julie to attempt to carry the baby to term. "I can't do that", she cried. After breaking the news to her husband, Julie began researching Spina Bifida, and found that a relatively new procedure of pre-natal surgery "in-utero" was being pioneered by a Doctor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Tennessee. She quickly contacted Vanderbilt, and was put in contact with Dr. James Bruner. Examinations were conducted, and Dr. Bruner held out a ray of hope to the Armas'.

Surgery was scheduled to be conducted at 21 weeks. The procedure was fraught with danger, both to the baby and to the mother. It involves performing a C-section, removing the uterus and placing it on the mother's belly. Amniotic fluid is withdrawn, the baby is maneuvered into a position where the back area is accessible, and a tiny incision is made into the uterus. At that point, specially made micro tools are used to pull flaps of skin over the spinal cord, and sutures smaller than a human hair are then used to close the flaps together. After that, the uterus is put back in place, and the incision is sewn up and the amniotic fluid replaced.

In November, 1999, Dr. Bruner and the staff at Vanderbilt began the operation on Julie. For just under an hour they worked quickly, but gently. At the end of the procedure, just as the uterus was being placed back in Julie's stomach, an amazing thing happened. A tiny arm thrust itself through the incision and grasped Dr. Bruner's finger!

It was if little Samuel Armas was saying "I'm alive.... I'm alive.... thank you."

Samuel Alexander Armas was born on Dec. 2, 1999. Now, almost 3, he is a happy, healthy and apparently normal baby....well, almost. He can't walk...yet, but his doctors hold out great hope and expectation that he eventually will. They believe that the residual problems from the Bifida that have affected his ankles and feet will resolve themselves through therapy.

Meantime, Mom, Dad and Samuel are enjoying each other, and rejoicing in the faith and hope that brought to fruition a life that might not have been.

The Photographer

How did we get such an amazing picture. Michael Clancy, a free-lance photographer, was originally contacted by USA-Today via a Tennessee newspaper with an assignment to document a new medical procedure for an article that was to run. Arrangements were made for him to be present at the next scheduled surgery, which just happened to be for Samuel.

During the hour long surgery, Michael shot 9 rolls of film. At the end of the surgery, Dr. Bruner had placed the still incised uterus on Julie's tummy, preparing to place it back inside. Michael remembers seeing, out of the corner of his eye, the uterus begin shaking, and suddenly a tiny arm shot through the opening. As Dr. Bruner began to try to place the arm back inside, Samuel's hand grabbed Dr. Bruner's finger. Dr. Bruner then began to pull gently away so as to disengage, but Samuel held on, causing more of his arm to come out. At this particular moment Michael began shooting more pictures, and thinking "oh wow...amazing". After the surgery, Michael rushed to develop the film, and make a proof shot to send via his agent to USA-Today. Michael¹s agent, after talking with the USA-Today executives, told Michael "They want to buy it to kill it." Clancy immediately refused to sell the film. Aside from taking pride in his work and wanting it to be published, Clancy had another reason for refusing to sell out his picture. He wanted the picture to be seen by as many people as possible because it provided a miraculous glimpse of life in a mother's womb. Prior to the photo shoot, Clancy considered a fetus to be purely a part of a women's body, and felt that if she wanted an abortion, it was nobody's business but her own. Clancy states that what he saw that day in the operating room changed his opinion immediately. He has since made it a "mission" of his to provide the picture for non-profit and right-to-life organizations, and hopes to be able to eventually put up billboards, especially if they are adjacent to abortion clinics. He is now devoutly "pro-life."