When Melissa “Missy” Andreniuk learned that her unborn baby was facing a rare pregnancy complication, she could never have imagined just how long and difficult the road ahead would be.

A 26-year-old single mother of two, Missy was already raising her eight-year-old son Gunnar when doctors discovered at 19 weeks that her unborn daughter, Amalia, had amniotic band syndrome.

The condition occurs when bands within the amniotic sac become attached to a developing baby, potentially affecting their growth and development.

For Missy, the news was overwhelming. But rather than give up hope, she and her unborn daughter began a remarkable medical journey.

At just 21 weeks of pregnancy, Missy and Amalia traveled five hours from their home to Tampa, Florida, for a specialized procedure to remove the bands.

The surgery was successful. Doctors were able to remove the bands, giving Amalia another chance to continue growing.

But when she arrived into the world at just 29 weeks, weighing only 3 pounds 6 ounces, it became clear that her journey would be far from over.

The amniotic bands had affected several areas of her development. Amalia was born with bilateral cleft lip and palate, hearing difficulties associated with her cleft palate, and an underdeveloped left eye.

She spent 44 days in the NICU, requiring a feeding tube during her first two months of life and a PIC line for much of her time in intensive care.

The closest hospital with the specialists Amalia needed was the Children’s Hospital of Georgia at Augusta University Medical Center — an eight-hour round trip from the family’s home.

With appointments, specialist visits and future procedures requiring them to make the journey three to four times every month, Missy eventually had to stop working to provide the round-the-clock care her daughter needed.

Amalia’s first post-birth surgery was scheduled to repair her lip, support orbital growth and place ear tubes.

As the operation approached, Missy knew there was no easy way to prepare for watching her little girl undergo such a long procedure.

The surgery was expected to take around four hours. Instead, it lasted seven hours.

But when it was finally over, Amalia had once again shown just how strong she could be.

“She was a rockstar,” Missy later shared, explaining that things went better than expected and doctors were able to accomplish more than they had initially thought possible.

Amalia wanted the dressings removed from her face and repeatedly tried to reach them, even managing to slip out of her protective “No-No” braces.

And while Amalia still had more procedures ahead, there was another reason for hope.

A CT scan revealed that she had more muscle around her left eye socket than doctors had expected, potentially making things easier as they worked toward fitting her prosthetic eye.

Doctors were also hopeful that her treatment could eventually be completed in around four surgeries rather than the dozens that had once seemed possible.

By then, the little girl who had entered the world weighing just 3 pounds 6 ounces was approaching 13 pounds.

“She knows EXACTLY what she wants and has quite a temper for a little one!” Missy wrote.

And perhaps no one has been more devoted to Amalia than her big brother Gunnar.

The eight-year-old, who loves video games, science and music, has become his baby sister’s biggest fan.

For Missy, the support of family, friends and strangers has also made an enormous difference.

She explained that donations helped cover hotels during surgeries and appointments, meals, gas for their many long journeys, as well as everyday necessities such as diapers and formula.

“I can not explain how blessed and loved we truly feel,” she shared.

Source: GoFundMe