by Rod Hughes

Abigail is a very lucky little girl to have been born in Costa Rica where the medical system could save her life. She was born June 11 at Tony Facio Hospital in Limon, taken by Caesarian after only 26 weeks of gestation, weighing all of 436 grams, only 15% the average newborn weight.

Her mother, Beyadira Ramirez, 40, was suffering a dangerous high blood pressure attack and something had to be done. The mother told the daily La Nacion that the doctor was frank with her, telling her he doubted the baby could be saved but that the priority was to save the mother’s life.

The average child is born after 38 to 40 weeks of gestation, weighing around 3,000 grams and measuring 50 centimeters. Abigail measure 37. Her mother chose the Biblical name meaning “source of joy,” so she was registered as Abigail Arelis Almendarez. But for a long time, it appeared that she might be the source of grief at her loss. “I lost count of the number of times the doctors prepared me for her loss,” the mother told La Nacion.

After six days, the delicate baby was transferred to the renouned National Children’s Hospital in San Jose where, after months of medical nurturing and the investment of 15 million colones (remember, the exchange rate is about 500 colones per dollar) the child is flourishing. “In all senses, she’s Superwoman,” smiled the hospital’s chief of newborn care, Dr. Alberto Saenz.

But it was not an uneventful development. Abigail developed abdominal complications and needed a two-hour operation to repair it. Again, the parents were warned she might not survive but, against all predictions, she did. Now back in her native Limon, she weighs 2,280 grams and measures 47 CMS. Doctors now say she has a perfect chance to grow up perfectly normal.