Being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness early in pregnancy is probably the one of the worst fears moms-to-be have. Florida mom Maria Crider, 28, experienced this very thing, when doctors found that her that she had breast cancer when she was 11 weeks along in her pregnancy.
Maria first sought their help after she discovered a lump while breastfeeding her eldest son, Liam. Months later, after undergoing chemotherapy and multiple treatments, she welcomed another baby boy, who she and her husband Brandon named Logan, via a C-section delivery.
photo by Bonnie Hussey Photography
“I cried when I saw him. In that moment all the bad went away, I forgot the cancer, I forgot about the chemo and all I saw was this perfect, healthy little boy and my husband — there holding my hand, with so much love,” she shares with Good Housekeeping. “It was the most intense, terrifying and beautiful moment of my life.”
photo by Bonnie Hussey Photography
Thanks to birth photographer Bonnie Hussey, Maria’s story has been inspiring thousands all over the world. Hussey shared the heartwarming photos with the popular Facebook page Love What Matters, writing: “Maria taught me so much, through her fight with Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC)…She was diagnosed with TNBC after she was pregnant. She went through chemotherapy up until a few weeks before birthing her baby, continued treatment shortly after birth and has recently completed radiation.”
photo by Bonnie Hussey Photography
After giving birth, Maria breastfeed baby Logan for six weeks before resuming radiation treatment. Thanks to her best friend, who donated breast milk, her baby boy still continues to breastfeed. As of this writing, she has completed all 28 of her treatments and is now waiting to find out if it effectively beat cancer. If there’s anything this whole experience has taught her, it’s to cherish every single moment with her family.
photo by Bonnie Hussey Photography
sources: Good Housekeeping, Love What Matters, Bonnie Hussey Facebook page
READ: Breast cancer risks that you need to talk about with your doctor
