WACO, Texas -- Baylor women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey is preparing to become a grandmother for the first time, exciting news for her that is tempered by word that the unborn child is dealing with two major birth defects.
Makenzie Fuller, who is in her third season on her mother's staff at Baylor after being a four-year letter winner for the Lady Bears, is 18 weeks pregnant, with a due date in April.
Mulkey wrote in a note that she posted on Twitter on Monday that her family is "thrilled that God has brought" the child into their lives, while also saddened by the separate defects that are both life-threatening issues.
Fuller shared in a tweet introducing Scout Marie Fuller that the unborn baby girl's heart didn't develop properly, a condition known as hypoplastic right heart syndrome. She also is believed to have Turner syndrome, a chromosomal condition that alters development in females.
"She has already brought an unimaginable amount of love, strength and faith into our lives," wrote Makenzie Fuller, who is married to former Baylor football player Clay Fuller. "At the same time, we are saddened to say that our daughter is struggling and fighting for her life every day."
In her post, Mulkey wrote about how people have a tendency to "feel as if we are in control of things until you are faced with these types of obstacles."
"This is our life and regardless of what the future holds, Scout will always be my first grandchild," Mulkey said in a tweet she introduced with, "I've been called a lot of things in my life, but Grandma is a first!"
The Associated Press contributed to this report.