Cancer doesn't stop healthy delivery

The birth of a baby is always a milestone. The birth of Abbigail Lynn Schott is doubly so.

On Friday, June 16, at 6:14 a.m., Steve and Jodi Schott of Greenleaf welcomed their baby daughter into the world, just five and one-half weeks before she was due.

"She's our little miracle," Jodi said with delight.

Miracle is the word. As reported in The Compass (June 16), shortly after learning she was pregnant last November, Jodi also learned she had a fast-growing tumor that turned out to be B-cell lymphoma. The tumor couldn't be removed because of its location near vital organs, so Jodi began a series of chemotherapy treatments. She has completed several treatments and has more to go.

They used drugs that wouldn't effect Abbigail, who was due on July 25. She, however, had other ideas. On the day Jodi's story appeared in The Compass, she went into labor and Abbigail was born naturally, without any pain medication.

Abbigail Lynn weighed in at 4 lbs. 2 oz. and was 17 and 3/4 inches at birth. She remains in St. Vincent Hospital's neonatal care unit, and her parents aren't yet sure when she will be ready to come home. Jodi and Steve visit their daughter twice a day. The Schott family are members of St. Mary Parish, Glenmore/Stark.