Mother Of Daughters With Zika-Linked Birth Defect Speaks Out With Moving Message

Microcephaly occurs if the brain of a child does not form properly during pregnancy or if the brain stops developing after birth. Children who have this disease suffer from developmental delays, feeding problems, intellectual disability, seizures and they have a small skull too. And this rare birth defect has been hitting the headlines lately because it has been predominantly linked to the Zika scare. Hence, many women are getting worried and some even pushed themselves to illegal abortions, according to the report of Breitbart.

However, Gwen Hartley, who has daughters with microcephaly, wants to reassure parents that there is nothing to be scared of and "their children will be so much stronger than they think." She said her 14-year-old daughter, Claire was first diagnosed with the disease when she was 3 months old while her 9-year-old Lola was diagnosed before she was born.

Hartley said neither of her two daughters can talk nor walk. But she is proud of them because they defied doctors' expectation that they might not live that long. The proud mother also said that her daughters are just like any other children. They like to rap, watch TV and both of the girls have different personalities.

She further added that having kids with such illness is definitely hard. Nevertheless, parents can get through it if they will just connect with others and educate themselves about it. Likewise, create a support system. But at the end of it, "their children will be the light of their family's lives," she added.

"I am no less blessed by having two daughters with this condition than if they'd been born typical," the mother wrote on her blog, The Hartley Hooligans. "I am just as proud of my girls as I am of our neurotypical son, Cal." More so, Gwen made it clear that she was undeterred by her children's diagnoses and just wants to relish every moment with them.