Tag: Parent of a child with disabilities

Congenital Heart Defects

Compassion & Courage

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By Monica Palase I just read Kate’s story and it was amazing. My husband and I had our first son, CJ, on August 12,1991. He was born with HLHS. At that time, they were just starting the surgery to correct this and he underwent open heart surgery at 10 days old. We lost our precious angel on November 16, 1991. I was set on not having anymore children, but my CJ told me not to give up. I was told when I got pregnant again that I would have the option of aborting the pregnancy if this child had the same condition. It is not something […]

Opinion

We All Walk Our Own Paths

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By T.W. I am not writing to criticize. I feel so deeply for these families and the choices they made. I cry reading these stories they’ve written because I went through similarly agonizing decisions with my own pregnancy at age 30. My son, who is now age two, has Down syndrome. I would never say or do anything to add to anyone’s pain. I experienced the same feelings these women and families went through with a poor prenatal diagnosis. I had decided to carry my pregnancy to term and only later, when I was already several months pregnant, I learned that my son had a hole in his heart and […]

Opinion

Mother’s Advice

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By Carrie U. Terminating a pregnancy after a diagnosis of Down syndrome seems to come and go as a debate topic. At times this choice is unfairly characterized as “the wrong one.” As one who is in a position to know, I am here to offer my own perspective on this topic. I am a 38-year-old mother of three beautiful children. I have been incredibly blessed; all were born healthy and, knock on wood, will continue to lead happy lives even when I am no longer around. With each pregnancy, I was very nervous. Yes, nervous about being pregnant in general, but also nervous because I have a sister five years […]

Opinion

A Letter of Support

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By H. B. I found this site through a link on a forum, in a discussion on the reasons for ending a pregnancy late-term. I read through many of the stories here, and commend the women for having the strength to share their experiences with others forced into making painful decisions. I am the mother of three, and my middle child has Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome). I love and cherish her. She is beautiful and high functioning. But I cannot say what my decision might have been had I had a prenatal diagnosis. Quite likely I would not have continued the pregnancy. While she is […]

Articles

Us and Them

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My living child has the same disability that led me to abort later pregnancies

I felt I was standing on some imaginary line with one foot in two very different worlds. I felt parents who terminated focused on the bad to get through, and parents who had a living child with a disability or fatal illness focused on the good to get through.