My cutest roommate ever has the cutest new baby brother ever! Meet Sammy: 
Sammy is a very precious, good natured baby with a pretty heavy load already. He was born with a brain dysfunction called Semi-Lobar Holoprosencephaly (HPE), which apparently develops in the first few weeks of pregnancy and means that the brain doesn't grow forward and divide like it's supposed to during pregnancy. I wouldn't want to speak for his family on the nature of this disorder because obviously they know much more than I do, but I do know that they are very lucky that Sammy made it out of the womb (most babies that develop this disorder don't make it past pregnancy). Not only that, but he was lucky to be born into such a loving and positive family. Please keep this family in your thoughts and prayers, I know they'd appreciate it.
More information on Sammy's condition is here. And this is the website of another little boy in Indiana who has the same condition. Coincidentally, this little tyke is also named Sammy and has a milder version of the same disorder.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
New Christmas Profile
Posted by Little Bagel at 5:43 AM
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3 comments:
You should put a warning on your posts when they are going to be downers. That makes me extremely sad.
Chelle
What is Sammy's prognosis? If that kid in Indiana has a more mild disorder, does that mean Sammy will make it past infancy, or not?
Bleh. Why can't they test for this stuff in amniocentesis. I just don't get it. Many of the genetic disorders or anomalies that cause conditions like this seem like they could be testable...
I considered putting a warning at the top and originally my post had one. But at the same time, I didn't want to label a new baby as a sad story - they are still very happy to have him ! (From the email: "We want you all to know how honored we truly feel that he has been brought to us...he has a sweet temperment and a soft and gentle appearance. And Molly has enjoyed having a new baby in the house....she is very kind and wants to be a big helper with him.")
I don't know about his prognosis... the email I got sounded like they won't know for a little while. Right now he has all the normal baby reflexes (sucking, gagging, surprise, etc.) and it won't be until the stage of development where those are supposed to turn into brain functions that they'll know for sure how his condition will affect him.
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