When most moms are pregnant or about to bring home a new baby, their biggest worries are material. Sure they may worry about feeding and health, but usually in a general, new parent nervous kind of way. Most of the concerns are more about giving the baby the right name, buying the "going home" outfit, and planning the perfect nursery.

But when your baby is born with health problems, it opens up a whole other level of worry. The story of the youngest person to get a pacemaker is like that. Little Jaya Maharaj was born at 31 weeks and was immediately given a pacemaker 15 minutes later.

Jaya's parents were told that the mother's immune system was attacking her heart while she was in the womb and that they would have to deliver her nine weeks early and do surgery. It was risky and terrifying, but now it looks like this miracle little girl will be OK and the pacemaker will last her 10 years. It's hard to even imagine.

Becoming a new parent is hard and scary enough without having worries like this. But Maharaj's story isn't a sad one. It's one of hope and faith.

When I became a mom, I worried about all the typical new moms things. I worried whether my daughter was gaining enough weight and whether I was making enough milk. I worried about toys and baby-proofing and my dog and how he might interact with her.

The idea of having these kinds of decisions puts it all into perspective, though. No one will ever stop new parents from worrying, but maybe the appreciation of a healthy baby could be a bigger part of the package because of stories like this.

Jaya is a true miracle -- her name means victorious in Hindi. She is a lesson to new parents that sometimes even amidst the stresses of life, we should stop and take stock and be present in gratitude. As father Kamneel Maharaj told MSNBC:

Whenever we were worried, she would kick from inside and say, "I'm here; I'm alive!" We thought maybe she was trying to tell us that everything was OK, so we were always hopeful.

This story makes me feel hopeful and full of love. What an amazing miracle story.

Does this story touch you?

 

Image via dennis/Flickr