By Megan Norris
Pictures: David Mason
Shannon feels twice as lucky to be a mum to two such special girls.
Young mum, Shannon Bergamin, settles into a chair on the patio of her suburban backyard, casting a watchful eye over the two little miracles she never dreamed she’d have.
This Melbourne mum shares an extra-special bond with little girls, Bethany, 9, and Bella Rose, 4. Their dramatic births not only brought her the gift of motherhood, she says, but they ultimately saved her life.
“I treasure every single moment,” reveals Shannon, 33, hugging the battlers whose early arrival into the world amazed the specialists fighting for their mother’s life.
While Bethany’s surprise birth in September 1998 miraculously cured ailing Shannon of a potentially life-threatening kidney disorder, her second pregnancy alerted doctors to an aggressive cancer which, if left undetected, would have killed the expectant mum within months.
“Because I’d been so sick with my first baby, doctors kept a close eye on me second time around,” explains the dark-haired fitness instructor who underwent a pap smear at 14 weeks pregnant with Bella.
Tragically, the detection of the rapidly spreading cervical cancer left Shannon with an agonising dilemma — to save the unborn baby, or herself.
“There was no choice as far as I was concerned,” explains Shannon. “After everything I’d gone through having Bethany, I wasn’t about to terminate my new baby … I was ready to die for her.”
Desperate to give her unborn child the best chance of survival, Shannon opted for risky surgery to remove the spreading cancer, buying her baby valuable time.
And despite fears that the operation wouldn’t stop the growing cancer — and that surgical stitches wouldn’t hold the baby growing inside her — Shannon defied all odds to welcome Bella Rose into the world, before undergoing an emergency hysterectomy to save her own life.
“It’s been a long, traumatic journey — but watching my children growing up makes it all worthwhile,” says Shannon from her East Ringwood home, an hour from Melbourne.
The Bergamins’ harrowing ordeal began in 1998 when Shannon first fell pregnant with Bethany. After years battling a serious kidney malfunction — which, as a child, put her on the transplant list — Shannon had developed a fertility problem triggered by Endometriosis.
The condition — which thickens the lining of the womb, hindering conception — was so severe she was placed on heavy-duty hormones which left her sick and underweight.
“Endometriosis affected my fallopian tubes and doctors said even with medical intervention, my chances of having children were very unlikely,’ she says.
Putting parenthood out of their minds, Shannon and husband Julian, 34 were stunned when persistent nausea turned out to be morning sickness.
“We were shellshocked,” she says. “When Julian saw the baby on the scan he was so thrilled he told me to organise our wedding!”
Shannon was blooming when they married in June 1998, though nose bleeds and headaches at 20 weeks landed her in hospital where she learned her failing kidneys now threatened her baby’s life.
“Bethany wasn’t growing properly because of restricted blood flow and I was put on dialysis,” recalls Shannon.
Eight weeks later, the sick young mum went into premature labour and the Bergamins prayed for a miracle. Their prayers were answered on September 29, 1998 with the arrival of daughter Bethany who was born by emergency caesarian weighing just 722g — so tiny she fitted into the palm of her father’s hands.
Rushed to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Melbourne’s Monash Medical Centre, battling Bethany clung to life, battling respiratory problems and surviving a heart attack. With all the worry, Shannon barely noticed the disappearance of the dialysis machine that had been keeping her alive — until doctors revealed some amazing news.
“After years being sick and on special diets I suddenly felt so healthy — and nobody knew why,” recalls Shannon, whose kidney function went from 40 to 95 per cent.
“Doctors said it was very rare, but in some cases kidneys could be reconditioned. My baby absorbing all the poisons in my system might explain that.”
Enjoying motherhood and good health, Shannon was thrilled when in October 2002, she discovered she was pregnant again.
But casting a shadow over the joy, a test revealed a fast-spreading cervical cancer.
“We were devastated,” says the young mum.
Ruling out a full hysterectomy, which would have meant an immediate termination, the frightened mum-to-be opted for a risky operation to remove cancerous tissue from the neck of her womb — aware it might spark premature labour.
“I knew the cancer would spread if I continued with the pregnancy after the op, but I was told without it, I wouldn’t see my baby grow up … so I went ahead knowing at least, I was buying us both more time.”
With stitches now holding her baby in her uterus, Shannon held on for another nine weeks when she went into early labour.
But doctors managed to stop the contractions and she spent the following weeks praying for her baby and hoping the disease wouldn’t spread.
Finally, on June 18 2003, at 34 weeks the plucky mum underwent an emergency caesarian, followed by the hysterectomy she’d been delaying.
“Bella Rose was premature too, but at 4lbs 5ounces [almost 2kg], she was stronger than Bethany and only spent a day in intensive care,” she says.
“Looking at her and knowing we’d both survived was amazing.”
Today, a healthy, happy Shannon remains thankful to the two little battlers who helped save her life — and to the simple test that helped her beat a death sentence.
“We’ve defied some pretty amazing odds,” she says. “Now I’m hoping my story will encourage other women to have pap smears. It’s a simple test — but it definitely saves lives.”
For more true life baby stories, see this week’s Woman’s Day (on sale May 26).
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