Pregnancy is often difficult, but pregnancy combined with a cancer diagnosis is devastating. Then-24-year-old Latvian-born Canadian model Elizaveta Bulokhova was faced with this situation in 2014. While vacationing in Amsterdam with her husband, Roman Troubetskoi, what Bulokhova thought was a toothache turned out to be cancer. The doctors told her she would need to have an abortion before chemotherapy.
“He was very active and I would talk to him often while he was in my womb,” Bulokhova told Vice of her then-unborn son. “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.” In another interview with Daily Mail, she added, “I just told myself whatever the universe has in store for me I will accept it. If my baby is meant to be born, he will be born.”
Luckily, various delays presented Bulokhova with an unexpected third option: the possibility of a Caesarian section. After consulting with doctors, baby Valentin was safely delivered 10 weeks early. Bulokhova had 95% of her jaw removed, underwent chemotherapy, and is now recovering. She recently modelled for a Vice article that told her story. You can support cancer research and prevention through the Canadian Cancer Society.
Photo credits & Copyright: Manolo Studios (Photographer: Manolo Ceron, Makeup Artist: Julia Stone)