Yahoo Lifestyle Couple Finishes Nursery Despite Being Told Baby Girl May Not Survive: 'We Were Determined' (Exclusive)
Ciarra Schultz tells PEOPLE she "dreams of a day" when she can lay her baby in her own crib at home
Courtesy Ciarra and Nick Schultz
Summer's nursery, as created by Ciarra and Nick SchultzA Michigan couple has gone viral for completing their daughter's nursery despite being told by doctors the baby "may not survive" her rare genetic condition.
Ciarra Schultz shared a video on TikTok in which she and her husband, Nick, can be seen completing the nursery by adding crown molding to the walls, hanging floral wallpaper and painting the rest of the walls pink.
Ciarra tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview that completing the nursery even after doctors advised her to terminate the pregnancy was "therapeutic," and that she "dreams of a day" when she can lay her baby in her own crib.
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Ciarra explains that she had a "very normal pregnancy" until a 20 week anatomy scan, where she was told that the baby's legs and arms "were measuring small."
After being referred to a maternal fetal medicine specialist, the couple was told that the baby "had a rare genetic condition called Skeletal Dysplasia and it may be lethal," Ciarra says.
"We were then taken to ultrasound and shown that her legs and arms were still small, measuring about 15-16 weeks, her skull was hypo-mineralized, and her ribs were short, angulated and possibly fractured," she adds. "We were devastated and told we should terminate, as the chance of survival at birth was minimal."
More tests determined a similar outlook, with the baby's measurements continuing to "point towards lethality," Ciarra says.
After talking it over with one another and connecting via social media with other parents of children born with the suspected condition, Ciarra and Nick decided to continue the pregnancy.
Three weeks later, the couple received genetic testing results that confirmed the baby had Osteogenesis Imperfecta, a rare genetic condition that affects collagen production and can cause skeletal dysplasia.
At that point, the couple had already "picked out a name, a nursery theme and purchased a stroller," Ciarra says.
Related: After 19 Months in the Hospital, Baby Weighing Just 1 Lb. at Birth Comes Home
The news of the genetic condition, she adds, was "devastating," but didn't deter them from finishing the work they had started on the nursery in their Grand Rapids home.
"It took us a while, but we decided to finish the nursery, because we were determined our baby would beat the odds and that she would come home," Ciarra says. "This pregnancy was not what we ever expected and being able to complete the nursery gave us control over something."
On July 2, baby Summer did indeed beat the odds, when she was born weighing 4 lbs., 6 oz.
"At birth she had to be intubated," Ciarra says, adding that the baby "is still intubated and fighting" in the neonatal intensive care unit.
Ciarra continues: "Due to her condition, her chest cavity is smaller, and because of this, her lungs are underdeveloped. There is no way to tell how long she will be in the NICU. We hope, with time, she will be able to come home and see the nursery we built just for her."
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