The path to Tennessee politics for Allie Phillips began last year in her doctor’s office. She was 19 weeks pregnant when she got the devastating news about her unborn daughter: only two of the four chambers in her heart were formed.
It was one of many severe congenital issues. The fetus was incompatible with life.
Phillips is 28. She and her husband already have a 6-year-old daughter. They had picked out a name for her sister: Miley Rose.
Phillips already knew there were complications with the pregnancy, and she had been bargaining with the universe for days leading up to this appointment. Maybe there would be treatment for whatever condition her daughter had. A transplant. A cure, even.
That was not the case.
It does not necessarily mean praying. I am an atheist. I’ve definitely done things like say, “well universe, if X doesn’t happen, I’m going to do Y.” I don’t expect the universe to do what I say, I just need the mental fortitude.