GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — A Greensboro officer and his wife lost their one-week-old daughter to a rare condition.
It’s a decision no parent wants to make: Keep their baby alive or not allow them to suffer.
It’s an option doctors asked Marissa and Austin Asbury to make about their one-week-old daughter Autumn.
“She was definitely a fighter. Very spunky anytime we told her we loved her. She would stick her tongue out at us anytime he touched her. Her vitals would fluctuate on the machine anytime he would touch her. She had one of the most beautiful souls ever,” Marissa said.
On Jan. 18, at Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center, Autumn was born with hydrops fetalis.
It’s a rare condition that causes fluid buildup in a baby’s organs which eventually leads to swelling on the skin.
According to the National Library of Medicine, it affects 1 in 1,500 babies.
“You could say it was like an emotional roller coaster. There were some days we had good news, and there were days the doctors were like, ‘We don’t know where it’s going to go or what’s going to happen,’” Marissa said.