Friday, January 05, 2007
Children
Choosing schools may be one of the major decisions parents would make for their children. But it could not be compared to making this decision . Insane or not, I'm sure it's a painful one.
Ashley is 9 years old. Shortly after birth, she had feeding problems and showed severe developmental delays. Her doctors diagnosed static encephalopathy, which means severe brain damage but had no idea what may have caused it.
Her condition has left her in an infant state, unable to sit up, roll over, hold a toy or walk or talk. Her parents say she will never get better. She is alert, startles easily, and smiles, but does not maintain eye contact, according to her parents, who call the brown-haired little girl their "pillow angel."
Now, her parents made the biggest decision of their lives.
The bedridden girl had her uterus and breast tissue removed and received large doses of hormones to halt her growth.
The reason?
"Ashley's smaller and lighter size makes it more possible to include her in the typical family life and activities that provide her with needed comfort, closeness, security and love: meal time, car trips, touch, snuggles, etc.," her parents wrote in the blog.
Also, Ashley's parents say keeping her small will reduce the risk of bedsores and other conditions that can afflict bedridden patients. In addition, they say preventing her from going through puberty means she won't experience the discomfort of periods or grow breasts that might develop breast cancer, which runs in the family.
There may be some ethical issues involved but what saddened me is to see pictures of Ashley lying in bed helplessly.
Life is so precious.