This week, my wife and I made the very difficult decision to terminate the pregnancy due to Trisomy 21.
The choice was not made lightly. We really appreciate all of the personal stories that you guys shared with us, especially the unconditional support we received from fans with no matter what we decided.
I know some of you may be very disappointed to hear this news. We are devastated. This has been extremely traumatic for both of us, especially Ashley.
She underwent the procedure earlier this week and is on the mend. Thankfully, everything went smoothly, but emotionally we are drained.
Trisomy 21, also known as Down Syndrome, is caused by an extra chromosome. It is caused by an error in cell division, like a glitch. The odds of a baby having it is 1 in 1000.
When I first confronted this news, I was shocked but optimistic. If they’re a little slow intellectually, then we’ll make it work. I signed on to be a parent, come what may…but I just didn’t fully understand what Down Syndrome entailed.
Once we made it public, it became clear that MOST people don’t know what Down Syndrome entails (and no, it’s not the same as Autism):
50% of babies with DS have heart defects. 75% will have hearing challenges. Over 50% will have vision problems. Impaired immune function, developmental disabilities, learning disabilities, delayed physical development, poor muscle tone, structural issues with face, decreased lifespan, etc…Sadly, the list is long, feel free to look it up…Down Syndome isn’t a “blessing”, it is objectively shitty from a health perspective.
I didn’t realize just how rough it is for the child, let alone the family…more often than not, they would be fully dependent on others for the rest of their life.
The miscarriage risk is also close to 50%, which made matters worse…they may never see the light of day and it puts Ashley further at risk.
We spoke with doctors, friends, family and genetic counselors and learned that up to 90% of women terminate their pregnancy after learning the baby has Trisomy 21.
This was WAY higher than I expected, I thought it would be lower given that I hear so many say they kept or would keep the baby. I believe that’s because most terminations happen privately, it feels shameful. A lot of judgment being cast.
You never think you’d be in this type of situation until it happens to you and then things change.
To all of my fans who have weighed in on this topic who have Autism, Down Syndrome or any other conditions…we appreciate you. You matter a lot and we’re glad you’re here. I commend you and your families for having the strength and courage to push forward.
As for us, we made a difficult decision that we believe in the long-run will be beneficial for our family. Thankfully, we had a choice.
It will take a little time to move on, but we are excited to try again in the future and hopefully have a better outcome.
Love you guys & thank you for understanding. ❤️
Now that it looks like there will not be any jurors looking to engage in nullification in the Karmelo Anthony trial, you just know the focus is going to be on intimidating the selected jurors.
@ClownWorld Per the community notes, I know this video is a joke, but I wouldn't doubt that there are people out there who actually think like this privately. And then if something happens and one of their kids drowns in the pool, do you think they are not going to sue?
@Supersonic_Red I experienced all those things as Gen X.
I have always thought those born in the early 60's should've been lumped in with Gen X rather than the Boomers. 1964 seems like really late to be a Boomer.
Kindergarten you say? OK, here it goes.
There was a group of kids who were always getting bullied by other kids. They were always being called names, like racist, sexist, homophobe, etc. The kids getting bullied always thought, "We should not sink to their level. We're better than that." The bullying continued.
Then along came a big kid named Donald. He decided he'd stand up for the kids being bullied, so he started throwing insults back at the bullies. The bullies didn't like this because only they get to call names. What made it funny was that Donald was better at calling names than the bullies were, and this made them really mad.
The bullies responded by tattling on Donald and the other kids to the teachers, but this was unfair because everything the bullies were telling the teachers was a lie, but the teachers, many of whom really liked the bullies and were on their side, acted on the false accusations and tried to put Donald and the kids who supported him in detention. But even then, Donald always found a way to stay out of detention and also to keep the other kids out of detention too.
Now some of the other kids didn't like the way Donald was turning the tables on the bullies and went over to the bullies' side. Other kids were grateful that Donald was standing up for them, but they secretly wished the name-calling would stop. The name calling continued because even though the bullies were being embarrassed and humiliated by Donald, their attempt to retaliate just made them look like fools, because they were fools.
The lesson - people should not be punished because other people say they did things they did not do.
No one is punishing New Orleans. New Orleans has been getting special treatment for decades, and now they're just going to be treated like every other city in Louisiana.
And stop calling New Orleans a "black city" to make it look like it's being unfairly targeted because of race. Black people have a slim majority at 55%, but I wouldn't call a city where almost half the population is non-black a "black city."
"You should vote for James Talarico because he has a hot girlfriend," is possibly the dumbest thing I have seen on the Internet today. But it's still early.