With the aid of her devoted dog, a sweet toddler with dwarfism has completed her first steps. Since she was born, tiny Ivy Sutcliffe, now 21 months old, and Rhodesian Ridgeback Lenny, four, have been inseparable.
Lenny has been Ivy’s constant companion throughout her entire life, and now that Ivy has taken her first steps last month, her parents Keeley Bailey and Carl Sutcliffe, both 34, are applauding the dog for aiding their daughter in walking.
Despite doctors’ warnings of developmental delays due to her Achondroplasia diagnosis, they believe Ivy’s desire to walk alongside Lenny is what has caused her to reach this significant milestone. She is a tiny miracle, according to her first-time parents, who are beyond pleased with her after two ectopic miscarriages.
Keeley, a financial advisor, recalled how she was completely upset and unable to stop weeping when Ivy was first diagnosed. Now, though, I wouldn’t trade her for anything and consider myself tremendously lucky to have given birth to a child with dwarfism because she is fantastic and brightens up whatever space she enters.
Ivy has always had Lenny at her side, and the two of them spend all of their time together. When she was a baby, he would lay his head in the cot next to hers. “We do credit Lenny for that as there’s little doubt that she wants to chase him across the garden. Ivy has started walking earlier than we’d originally imagined.”
Keeley and Carl have been informed that Keeley’s condition is not hereditary because neither of them has relatives who have Achondroplasia, the most common type of dwarfism. My family is all of the average height, so when we first learned that Ivy was little in the pregnancy, we didn’t give it much thought, she continued.
Ivy didn’t appear to have an underlying problem when she was born, but just to be sure, doctors performed certain tests a few months later. “Our whole attitude changed after we met another family in our neighborhood with a child who had the same type of dwarfism. We immediately felt comfortable.
Ivy is the nicest thing that has ever happened to us, and due to her constant smile, she is the happiest child most people have ever encountered. Ivy and Lenny now enjoy visiting the park together, and according to Keeley, onlookers frequently think Ivy is only a few months old.
Ivy continues to dress in baby clothes intended for babies between six and nine months old, according to Keeley. Therefore, it is understandable that some people may be perplexed by her age, especially because she is currently walking yet is still rather small. She has handled everything with grace, and we are so proud of her for taking her first steps. But she has never complained and always smiling. Ivy is a remarkable miracle, according to the couple, who had previously experienced two terrible miscarriages.
Both of my miscarriages were ectopic pregnancies, and because I had one Fallopian tube removed, we weren’t sure if I’d be able to become pregnant naturally. “Our family is complete, and we couldn’t ask for anything better. We are very grateful to have Ivy, and we won’t be having any more kids.
I hope that our story inspires other parents who are in a similar situation.