August 10, 2015
Your Baby or Your Life: One Model Mom's Controversial Decision
Canadian model Elizaveta Bulokhova had just about everything figured out at 24.
A model with a top agency, involved in a loving and committed relationship, relaxing with her partner Roman Troubetskoi in Amsterdam where they conceived a child.
A toothache would change everything. Her jaw in agony, Bulokhova visited a doctor where it was discovered that she had a rare form of bone cancer that would require surgery to remove 95% of her jaw and 5 brutal rounds of chemotherapy to save her life.
By this time her son was moving inside her.
"He was very active and I would talk to him often while he was in my womb. I had to tell him to stop moving because I couldn't keep him and then all of a sudden he did. He listened; he stopped moving," Bulokhova told Vice. And she kept the baby.
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A toothache would change everything. Her jaw in agony, Bulokhova visited a doctor where it was discovered that she had a rare form of bone cancer that would require surgery to remove 95% of her jaw and 5 brutal rounds of chemotherapy to save her life.
By this time her son was moving inside her.
"He was very active and I would talk to him often while he was in my womb. I had to tell him to stop moving because I couldn't keep him and then all of a sudden he did. He listened; he stopped moving," Bulokhova told Vice. And she kept the baby.
“I just told myself whatever the universe has in store for me I will accept it.”
Her jaw was removed and reconstructed using nerves and tissue and bone from her shoulder and leg. Her unborn son, Valentin, was exposed to anesthesia and Bulokhova's life was still in jeopardy from complications. By the time she was to begin chemotherapy, she was within 10 weeks of her due date and gave birth to her son by caesarean section. After 51 days in neonatal intensive care, Valentin came home healthy to his parents. Bulokhova's recovery took much longer. Now, however, she is beginning to relax into a state of health again, her hair is growing, her skin is regaining its glow, she is gaining weight. And while modelling is a career she has put behind her, she says her son is the real future. "He saved my life—that's the biggest part," said Bulokhova. "It kept me going. I didn't have time to pity myself. I kind of believe that if I weren't pregnant, I'd have been treated as another patient who's going through cancer and needed surgery. He's the one who took care of me to make sure everyone was on their game." Would you have made the same decision? h/t: Bored Panda Do you follow us on Instagram? [caption id="attachment_103752" align="alignnone" width="100"]
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