Gabi uses sign language while reading a book with her mom.

Hoeft worries that Gabi's health and mental abilities will deteriorate. The child experienced her first brain seizures last winter. In an odd way, they are a blessing.
"If she continues having them, she's guaranteed services" by the state, Hoeft said.
Hoeft also worries that Gabi is hyperactive. She has great difficulty doing what is asked of her. "You need to speak in short sentences and give one-step directions."
Sleep is another troubling issue. Gabi's restlessness follows her to bed, where she flails about, crashing into the wall.
But Hoeft is used to missing sleep. She has cared for countless babies whose brains and bodies were invaded by drugs and alcohol in the womb. She has helped more newborns through withdrawal than she can remember.
"I say to the right-to-lifers, come and walk in my shoes and spend the night with these babies and see if it's right that they should be born," Hoeft said.
Hoeft believes that to prevent FAS and FAE, there must be places for pregnant women to go for help, places where they don't have to worry that the state will take their children.
"The ones that can't control it should get residential support to help them not drink," Hoeft said. "We should give them all the emotional support they need, but not allow any access to alcohol. The government should pay for rehabilitation. They pay so much to support FAS and FAE people after they're here."
While Hoeft is doing all she can, she knows Gabi will always be brain-damaged.
"I have my hopes she might provide the world with some great revelation that will make life better for others, but I also know life is going to be very hard for Gabi," Hoeft said. "She's going to have a lot of major issues to deal with. I worry about how she's going to make it."