In Search of the Human Spirit

Chad and Keri McCartney were having the times of their lives. They had four beautiful kids and they were expecting their fifth child.

During Keri’s 23rd week, they got devastating news. The baby had a tumor growing out of it’s tailbone. The tumor would eventually cut off the blood supply and kill the baby if they didn’t act.

Surgeons would have to remove the tumor if the baby was to survive. It would involved a risky procedure which had only been performed successefully about 20 times. That’s world wide. The chance of success was fewer than 10 percent. But what choice did they have?

The procedure was done at Texas Children’s Hospital when the baby was just 6 months old. It involved removing part of the baby’s body from the womb. This was risky as they could not disturb the placenta. Though the head would remain in the womb, the body could only be expose to air for a few minutes. The tumor was removed and the baby was returned to the womb.

On May 3rd, little Macie Hope was born a couple of weeks early. However, she was healthy and tumor free. On June 6th, Macie Hope went home.