A GoFundMe page has been set up to support Abigail and Benjamin Milner. On Feb. 23 the couple found out their unborn son has a rare condition called CPAM. They now need to travel to Calgary every week (submitted photo/CHATNewsToday)

By Tiffany Goodwein

GoFundMe page set up for family of unborn baby diagnosed with rare condition

Mar 7, 2021 | 4:35 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB- Newlyweds Abigail and Benjamin Milner always knew they wanted to have children.

“I’ve wanted kids forever that was one of my life goals was to have kids, and I know she feels the same way,” Benjamin Milner said.

The couple met while attending guitar class at Crescent Heights High School, and they quickly fell in love. They dated for two years before tying the knot last summer. Four months after their wedding they found out they were expecting.

“ It was so exciting we were ecstatic, it was scary but it was so exciting,” Milner said.

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Two weeks ago the couple found out they were having a baby boy, but they were also hit with some unexpected news about their unborn child.

“So the ultrasound tech, she left the room, and then Dr. Stubbs came back in with her and kind of gave us a rundown on it, and he had no idea. He had nothing to tell us. He’s never seen it before it is so rare, he only heard about it in a textbook,” Abigail Milner said.

Their unborn child was eventually diagnosed with CPAM, a rare condition that stands for Congenital Pulmonary Airway Malformation.

“It’s a malformation in his lungs so he’s got sacs, they are cysts, all over his lungs which are making his lungs grow, and possibly it can shift his heart over, it could be really dangerous, it could cause heart failure,” Abigail Milner said.

With so many unknowns, the news was hard to take for the young couple.

” There is a chance we could lose our baby, and that would suck but that’s the reality, and just coming to that realization was really scary,” Benjamin Milner said.

According to the couple, the baby will likely require an operation to remove the cysts.

In the meantime, the couple has to travel to Calgary every week for ultrasounds and to monitor the baby’s condition.

Right now there’s not a lot they can do. All they can be doing right now is monitoring them every week. They are watching how he is growing compared to how his lungs are growing, because of the CPAM the air sacs in his lungs are filling up with fluid instead, so it is growing rapidly,” Abigail Milner said.

Weekly trips to Calgary has meant a huge financial strain for the couple who are just 19-years-old.

Family and friends have pulled together to support them.

So far, they have been able to raise enough money to help purchase a more reliable car so they can make their doctor’s appointments in Calgary.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help alleviate the financial barriers for the couple when they travel for medical appointments.