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February 2, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – I am the proud father of a three year old son named Lane who was born with full Trisomy 18. Many within the medical community would say that boys with this condition – the same genetic condition that Rick Santorum’s daughter Bella has – never survive. Many would say that Lane’s life is a ‘miracle.’

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The fact that Lane is alive is not a miracle. Lane is alive because my wife and I chose life for him. We made the decision to provide the same medical treatment for Lane as would be provided to another child without a discriminatory genetic label. Karen and Rick Santorum made the same decision for Bella.

From the time that the genetic conditions Trisomy 13 and Trisomy 18 were first identified in the 1960’s, it seems the children who receive these diagnoses have been abandoned by the medical system, likely due to the certainty that survivors had severe disability. A publication in the Lancet in 1992 stated, “A newborn infant with trisomy 18 should be considered as a patient with a hopeless outlook who ought not to be subjected to invasive procedures.(i)” Along the way, someone coined the phrase “incompatible with life” in reference to both Trisomy 13 and 18 and that seems to have stuck.

In 2003, the truth began to emerge. In a paper titled, “Lethal Language, Lethal Decisions(ii)” physicians who are leaders in pediatric ethics noted that medicine had evolved since the 1960’s and that treatment now existed for some of the conditions which many children with Trisomy 13 and 18 died from. They suggested that calling these conditions “lethal anomalies” is “not only inaccurate, it is also dangerous; by portraying a medical condition what is in fact a judgement about the child’s quality of life, it wrests from the parents a decision that only parents can make.”

There is a wide spectrum in the manifestation of Trisomy 13 and 18. Sadly, many children born with these conditions are severely afflicted and live a short, but very valued life. Yet many children are left to die – not because they can’t be helped – but because the doctors withhold treatment on account of the genetic label. Parents are told that nothing can be done, though this is often not true.

It was a great surprise to everyone when a national review of pediatric cardiac surgeries in 2004(iii) revealed that 35 children with Trisomy 13 and 18 had obtained cardiac surgery and survived – at a rate of 91%! So much for universally “lethal” and “incompatible with life”!

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The internet has allowed parents of these relatively rare conditions to network like never before. Blogs, websites and social networking sites like Facebook devoted to Trisomy 13 and 18 have grown exponentially in the past decade. Parents who receive a diagnosis of these conditions are sometimes told “there are no survivors” or “children who survive live a life of unremitting suffering.” Many parents who receive such a diagnosis will search online for more information. It won’t take long before they discover that there are many happy living children who have families who love to care for them.

Last year, Dr. Lawrence Fenton, a retired neonatologist, took the time to attend the annual conference for trisomy families. He was so surprised and delighted to meet the children living so well with trisomy 13 and 18 and their siblings and parents that he published a commentary(iv) about his experience. With respect to assessment of quality of life, he wrote, “Smiles and laughter need no score pad.” He added, “They [the trisomy parents] deserve our respect our affirmation, our support and part of our humanity as we true to do our part to make their lives and the lives of their children as good as can be.”

The most important truth about children like Bella and others with trisomy 13 and 18 is the beauty of their lives. Research done on over 300 parents of children in our community(v) revealed that most of us were told by medical providers that our child was incompatible with life, would live a life of suffering, or would be a vegetable. Yet parents responded overwhelmingly that our children are happy, enrich our families, improve our marriages and have a positive effect on their siblings.

My son, Lane, was diagnosed with Full Trisomy 18 at three days old. Prior to getting the results of the FISH test, the hospital told me that Lane’s heart condition could be repaired. However, after the results came back, the hospital then informed me that there wasn’t anything more the hospital could do for my son. So I took Lane home at nine days old on hospice, but Lane had another plan. He continued to get stronger every day, and so as his strength and fight improved…so did my fight to do anything I could to give my son the best quality of life.

My journey with Lane has given me a new perspective on what the pursuit of happiness really means…take each day as it comes, enjoy the little things, live…love…laugh to the fullest. He has taught my family how to work as a team, to treat all life with respect, patience, and to truly love unconditionally! As hard as this journey with Lane can get at times, I’ve been blessed to realize the strength that I possess as a human being and as a father to the most beautiful spirit I have ever encountered. This journey has been so worth the hardships because my son has taught me to be a better man and father. In honor of my son, I have dedicated my life to spreading awareness of Trisomy, and so Trisomy Advocacy Group was born.

In John 9, Jesus tells his disciples that a man is blind not because his parents sinned but “so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” It is these works of God that are the true miracle of the lives of Lane and Bella.

Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

Footnotes

(i) Bos AP, Broers CJ et al, Avoidance of emergency surgery in newborn infants with trisomy 18, Lancet 1992 Apr 11;339(8798):913-5
(ii) Koogler TK, Wilfond BS, Ross LF. Lethal language, lethal decisions. Hastings Cent Rep. 2003 Mar-Apr;33(2):37-41.
(iii) Graham EM, Bradley SM, Shirali GS, Hills CB, Atz AM; Pediatric Cardiac Care Consortium. Effectiveness of cardiac surgery in trisomies 13 and 18 (from the Pediatric Cardiac Care Consortium). Am J Cardiol. 2004 Mar 15;93(6):801-3.
(iv) Fenton LJ. Trisomy 13 and 18 and quality of life: treading “softly”. Am J Med Genet A. 2011 Jul;155A(7):1527-8.
(v) Our Children Are Not a Diagnosis”: Parents Judging Life with Trisomy 13 and 18. Annie Janvier, Barbara Farlow, Benjamin Wilfond. Presented at 2011 Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting, Denver CO

Alex Hauber is the president and founder of the Trisomy Advocacy Group whose mission is to advocate for the Trisomy community by empowering families and the medical community to make informed decisions regarding the care of Trisomy children. Please go here.