Pregnant Belly (file / credit: Ian Waldie/Getty Images)
Reporting Marla Diamond
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NEW YORK (WCBS 880) - Doctors didn’t hold out much hope for Patricia Wipple’s daughter.
Marla Diamond With Another Amazing Story Of Survival
“At first, they told me she probably has Down Syndrome. They told me this means that she may live for one year or she may live for five minutes,” said Patricia.
They encouraged Patricia to end the pregnancy.
“I couldn’t do it,” she said, and she relied on her faith.
Patrica’s son must have sensed something. He wanted a nickname for his baby sister.
“He said ‘I want it to be Hope.’ and I said ‘Okay. Hope it is. That’ll be her nickname.’ and the very next morning my water broke. So, I told my son ‘We gotta have hope now,’” said Patricia.
Bianca Riley Hope Wipple was born 12-inches-long weighing 1 pound 6 ounces and at only 22 weeks.
“I remember looking at her and I said, ‘I can’t even see her finger nails,’” Patricia told WCBS 880 reporter Marla Diamond.
Miraculously, Bianca survived and is developing like any other 1-year-old girl.
“She’s doing amazingly well. She’s a happy baby, loves to hug and kiss and beat up her brother,” said Patricia. “I really believe she’s here because of prayer and believing.”
WCBS 880 and Walgreens invite you to join us as we team up with the March of Dimes for the March for Babies walk on Sunday, May starting at Lincoln Center. Help fight premature birth. To register, go to marchforbabies.org. Let’s walk together for stronger, healthier babies.
