{"id":236870,"date":"2020-12-27T13:24:09","date_gmt":"2020-12-27T19:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=236870"},"modified":"2020-12-24T15:55:00","modified_gmt":"2020-12-24T21:55:00","slug":"doctors-faith-survive-trisomy-18-turned-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/doctors-faith-survive-trisomy-18-turned-12\/","title":{"rendered":"Doctors said Faith would not survive at birth with Trisomy 18, but she just turned 12"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A remarkable young lady whom doctors said had no hope of surviving after her birth celebrated her 12th birthday on December 23 \u2014 all because her parents refused to give up on her and found doctors who were willing to help.<\/p>\n

“It’s a Wonderful Life! This is a special day,” Faith Smith’s father wrote on Facebook<\/a>. “Faith is 12 years old today. Our ‘fatal fetal anomaly’ who is ‘Incompatible with Life’ just won’t listen to her critics.”<\/p>\n

“We are rejoicing in our home after a dozen years with Faith!” Faith’s mother Jesi Smith told Live Action News. “What a gift each of our children have been to us and to each other \u2014 I am living my dream of being a mom. We have learned not to take time with our children for granted. … [W]e are not just ‘lucky’ that Faith lives. We have a Mighty God and some great doctors and nurses that deserve the credit.”<\/p>\n

\"Trisomy

via Facebook<\/p><\/div>\n

Jesi Smith and her husband Brad\u00a0were told<\/a> during Jesi’s pregnancy that their daughter Faith had Trisomy 18 and that they should undergo an amniocentesis to confirm the diagnosis… and then abort her. The couple refused, though the doctors insisted that Faith would not survive. They told the Smiths that Faith would ruin their marriage, devastate them financially, and make life difficult for their other children, only to die. The Smiths remained strong in their faith and firm in their decision not to abort their daughter and not to undergo amniocentesis.<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0\u2018Incompatible with life\u2019? People with Trisomy 18 are proving doctors wrong<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

When Faith was born, she was officially diagnosed with Trisomy 18, but the doctors’ predictions of her immediate death did not come true.<\/p>\n

After facing discrimination from the medical community because of her diagnosis, Faith and her parents found Dr. Glen Green, a Pediatric Otolaryngology specialist, who was willing to help her. From there, they found more doctors who were willing to go the extra mile, and Faith began to thrive. She has undergone numerous surgeres, including a recent spinal surgery for scoliosis and kyphoscliosis earlier this year. Now, in honor of her 12th birthday, her parents sent a postcard to all of the doctors \u2014 both the ones who helped and the ones who refused<\/em> to help \u2014 detailing Faith’s life.<\/p>\n

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