It's A Girl!
A miracle has truly happened. Susan Anne Catherine Torres was born today. She was 1 pound 13 ounces and measures 13 ½ inches long. Why is this a miracle? Because ever since May 7th, her mom has been brain dead, diagnosed with stage four melanoma. The best commentary I can manage is... amazing.
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UPDATE in comments.
posted by Esther @ 7:15 AM
9 comments
9 Comments:
I don't think any words would express the amazing nature of this event. I pray this girl has a wonderful life.
She should only be healthy, G-d willing.
i heard about this after work. may G-d bless and keep her.
that's so tragic. Ever since I had kids, anything that involves small children or mothers thereof getting hurt/dying, it bothers me terribly. All I can think of is this poor baby not having a mom.
(*)>
So far, so good with his little angel. No sign that the melanoma spread to the baby.
The mother died today when life-support was removed. Sad, but I'm praying that the baby will be healthy.
BTW, this is a local story for me, and I've been following it for months.
Thanks for the update, AOW. I hadn't heard that the mom was taken off life support. BW, I hear ya on the baby being motherless...so is her older brother, sadly. But at least she was able to live. I'm sure she'll be very loved.
The Washington Post headline on August 5 says "A Vigorous Beginning for N. Va. Preemie."
We need to continue to pray for little Susan Anne Catherine Torres.
I'm going to post the article via AOW:
A 'Vigorous' Beginning for N.Va. Preemie
Girl Doing Well After Birth By Brain-Dead Woman
By Stephanie McCrummen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 5, 2005; B04
Susan Anne Catherine Torres, whose mother, Susan Torres, was declared brain-dead but kept on life support for three months so her child might live, continued to do well yesterday at an Arlington hospital a day after her mother died.
"She's still vigorous, so that's a good sign," said Kristen Peifer, a hospital spokeswoman.
The baby, 13.5 inches long and weighing 1 pound 13 ounces, was born by Caesarean section at Virginia Hospital Center on Tuesday, about 13 weeks premature.
She faces such challenges as immature digestive, respiratory and immune systems, but they are ones that doctors are accustomed to handling. She is being monitored in the neonatal intensive care unit.
The baby will remain hospitalized until her normal due date arrives in about three months, said Donna Tilden-Archer, medical director of neonatology at the hospital. Babies born at 27 weeks, as she was, survive about 90 percent of the time, Tilden-Archer said.
Susan Torres, of Arlington, lost consciousness May 7 when a cancerous brain tumor began to bleed. A few days later, she was declared brain-dead with no hope of recovery.
When she was 17, Torres received a diagnosis of melanoma, one of the most aggressive forms of cancer, and a malformed freckle was removed from her arm. She was given a clean bill of health, but the cancer apparently lay dormant in her body for the next nine years, her doctors said, adding that they do not know what may have triggered it.
Some research has suggested that pregnancy may be a trigger, but the evidence has been unconvincing, doctors said.
An initial examination showed that the melanoma did not reach Torres's placenta, which has been sent for further microscopic testing. A 2003 study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found that of 27 cases in which melanoma reached the placenta, the fetus was affected six times. In five of those six cases, the infants died -- one after 12 hours and another after two years.
Jason Torres, the baby's father, who slept at his wife's side for three months, decided to make their story public in the hopes of raising money to help pay staggering medical bills. The family posts updates from time to time on a Web site, http://susantorresfund.org .
It is a wonderful story that demonstrates why fighting for it is worthwhile. The father will still need a lot of financial help, though.
As for the child being motherless, look at it this way - so is the little boy. Now they have each other.
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