Sophie Delezio reflects on pregnancy journey
Sophie Delezio has reflected on her incredible story of survival as she prepares to become a mother.
After defying death twice before the age of five, the now 23-year-old and her fiancé are getting ready to welcome their baby boy to the world.
"[I'm feeling] very good, very pregnant, very tired, very much over this, but loving every part of the journey," Delezio told A Current Affair.
Delezio faced her first challenge in December 2003 when a car crashed into her daycare centre, where the two-year-old was taking a nap.
She suffered third-degree burns to 90 per cent of her body and lost both feet, one of her hands and her ear.
Three years later, young Sophie faces another challenge, as she recalled, "So I was crossing the road and a driver got blinded by the sun and hit my stroller, flew 18 meters in the air, landed head first on the pavement."
"Yeah, simple as that, again, freak accident."
Despite facing so much at a young age, Sophie remains optimistic about the future.
"I've made peace with it. There's nothing I can do to change it, no matter what," she said of her ordeals.
Sophie and her fiancé are now getting ready for another big change in their life, as Salerno shared he was "the happiest I've ever been" to be welcoming a child with his partner.
"I'm over the moon," he said.
"I think once she came back from [studying in] London and we started catching up, even our friendship blossomed even more," Joseph said.
"I just knew I'm not gonna wait another year or two to figure it out. I just knew what I wanted."
Delezio said she anticipated her other half to be "a beautiful dad", as she said, "He is really a very kind and caring guy and I know he's just going to look after little bubba so well."
Sophie is partnering with DrinkWise throughout her pregnancy ahead of International Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Awareness Day on September 9th, saying, "I think supporting a cause like fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, it is 100 per cent preventable."
"It's not impacting your life, it's impacting someone else's life, at the end of the day your child, coming into this world, and I think, give them the best opportunity possible to thrive."
Sophie is pleased to be joining DrinkWise and key medical practitioners to advise women on the importance of abstaining from alcohol when planning a pregnancy, during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. For more information on DrinkWise’s annual FASD campaign, please visit DrinkWise.org.au.
Image credits: A Current Affair