A mom in New York City was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice – she was willing to sacrifice her own life for someone else.
When Elizabeth Joice found out she was pregnant, she was overcome with joy because doctors told her she would never be able to have children. But doctors then told her that she would be forced to make a decision to take the live of her unborn baby to begin cancer treatment or put her own life in danger by forgoing it.
Joice pondered whether she should join a club of other courageous women who decided to protect their unborn babies.
As Joice’s huaband tells the New York Post, it was an easy decision:
“Having a kid was one of the most important things in the world to her,” Max told The Post. “She said, ‘If we terminate the pregnancy and it turns out I can’t have a baby [later], I’ll be devastated. She knew this might be her only chance.”
Doctors removed the mass, but because she was pregnant, Elizabeth couldn’t undergo full-body MRI scans and her oncologist couldn’t see whether the cancer was growing.
The baby was due March 4, but the doctors could no longer wait. In January, a surgeon performed a C-section and beautiful baby Lily was born.
Elizabeth’s health quickly declined as her cancer spread. Tumors invaded her right lung, heart and abdomen “We said our goodbyes,” Max said. “It was like something out of a movie. We sat there and cried. We tried to tell stories, talk about all the great things.”
“Liz came home five days after Lily was born,” Max said. “That one night at home was all we had.”
Elizabeth died on March 9 in her hospital bed with Max by her side.
“Liz had this way about her,” Max said. “She had this positive energy that made you want to be the best version of yourself. She was intolerant of self-pity.”
In similar cases, doctors suggest an abortion, but, as studies show, there is not always a need for women to destroy the life of their unborn child to save their own.
