{"id":38585,"date":"2013-08-02T06:29:11","date_gmt":"2013-08-02T10:29:11","guid":{"rendered":"\/news\/?p=38585"},"modified":"2013-08-02T11:32:34","modified_gmt":"2013-08-02T15:32:34","slug":"life-of-the-week-defying-the-doctors-and-the-odds-with-trisomy-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/life-of-the-week-defying-the-doctors-and-the-odds-with-trisomy-18\/","title":{"rendered":"Life of the Week: Defying the doctors and the odds with Trisomy 18"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>
\"Philip,<\/a>

Philip, Bernadette and baby Hannah.<\/p><\/div>\n

Bernadette and Philip Smith were the proud parents of seven children – Philip Jr., Delores, Soma, Titus, Isaac, Israel, and Eden – when they were blessed to learn they would soon welcome an eighth child. But by the fourth month of the pregnancy, during a routine ultrasound, doctors learned there was a problem with the baby. The Smiths were told that their child had Trisomy 18, or Edward\u2019s syndrome.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey told me that she was fatal,\u201d explains Bernadette, \u201cand that she wasn\u2019t going to make it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trisomy 18 is considered to be incompatible life with life. It is caused by an extra copy of the number 18<\/a> chromosome and according to the National Institutes of Health, only half of unborn babies with Trisomy 18 survive labor and delivery. Those who do survive usually have birth defects and are given a poor prognosis. Less than 10% will live to see their first birthday.<\/p>\n

Even with the odds stacked against their daughter, Bernadette and Philip had no intentions of ending the pregnancy. However, when Bernadette was six months along, doctors again pressured her to abort, this time using her other children as an excuse. Doctors told her that she did not have the time to be lying in the hospital with a high-risk pregnancy and delivery when she had seven other children to take care of. Still, Bernadette and Philip remained strong in their commitment to fight for their daughter\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

Bernadette explains:<\/p>\n

[The doctor] told my husband, \u2018Well your wife, she has a choice to make,\u2019 and my husband said, \u2018We will not abort his child.\u2019 He turned away from my husband and told me, \u2018You have a choice to make.\u2019 He totally ignored my husband. I said that I wanted to fight for her life and he told me he was there if I changed my mind. They had admitting papers for me because they really thought I would abort. It was strong. The pressure was very strong. The heart doctors – one in particular – he swung back in his chair and told me she wasn\u2019t going to make it, that we were not taking her home.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Nevertheless, Bernadette, strong in her convictions, held onto her faith and told the doctor that she didn\u2019t deny his knowledge or what he saw on the ultrasounds, but that she believed in the healing power of God. She knew in her heart that everything would be alright.<\/p>\n

Bernadette’s and Phillip’s baby girl – whom they named Hannah – made it to full term, but she was delivered via an emergency C-section. Frightened they would take her daughter away from her, Bernadette refused to let the doctors put her under for the surgery. She remained awake, feeling the pain of each cut. During this time she heard a voice. It told her, \u201cCome up, My child. Come up with Me. I sit in the heavens and laugh at the puny threats of the enemy.\u201d Bernadette began to laugh and soon everyone in the room was laughing too. The tension was gone. And Hannah was about to shock everyone.<\/p>\n

She had survived a pregnancy that doctors were sure she wouldn\u2019t. Now Hannah was born, but she wasn\u2019t breathing. \u00a0Thankfully, doctors were able to get her breathing started. However, due to holes in her heart, Hannah was immediately taken to a different hospital. At this hospital, she was placed on a feeding tube. Meanwhile, Bernadette fought to be released from her hospital so she could go and be with her daughter. Once by Hannah\u2019s side, Bernadette felt strongly that Hannah did not need the feeding tube and had it removed. From then on Hannah was able to survive and thrive on breast milk. Even more amazing, within three months the holes in Hannah\u2019s heart had closed up.<\/p>\n

Bernadette says:<\/p>\n

I held onto faith and the Word of God. It saved Hannah. I just kept believing the Lord\u2019s Word. Three months later the doctor could not believe it. The holes were closing and the doctor threw his head down because he was in shock. They told me she was blind. I said, \u2018No she\u2019s not. She can see.\u2019 I took her back to the eye doctor after years of the doctor saying she was blind and the eye doctor said to me, \u2018This girl can see. Let\u2019s get her some glasses.\u2019 There was just so much warfare, but she triumphed over everything. God just brought her through so much.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

After four years of life with her family, Hannah came down with pneumonia. Although she was thought to be healed of it, Hannah died. Her family was devastated, but grateful for the years they had together.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t imagine them aborting her at 4 months, at 6 months. She\u2019s with the Lord now. It was a journey. Five beautiful years with her. I just want to tell mothers, \u2018Don\u2019t do this [abortion].\u2019 I had to fight through it all. I wanted my baby alive and I wanted to carry her. We would have missed out on all of the beauty of life with my daughter. The voices of everyone screaming in my ear that it\u2019s not about you, Mrs. Smith. I said, ‘I know, it\u2019s about her and I want her to live.’ The children loved her. All seven of them. They were grief-stricken when she died. Even today they talk about her and they cry and want to go to her grave. They\u2019re still remembering her. Hannah was Hannah. She brought so much joy to us. We miss her dearly. I want to encourage everyone. Go full term. Go the course. Don\u2019t abort. Don\u2019t do it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Editor\u2019s Note: This summer, we will be providing you with a Life of the Week story every Friday. Our previous Life of the Week articles are here: <\/em><\/p>\n