“Incompatible with life.”
Those are the horrifying words that many parents receive from doctors when prenatal testing uncovers serious health issues.
But every unborn child is a life – and miracles are happening every day for parents whose children are not expected to survive.
It is all too common nowadays for physicians to encourage women to have abortions if severe complications are detected during pregnancy.
They typically don’t take into account God’s divine plan for every human being or the fighting spirit of survival we are all born with.
Alivia Kraft is one parent who heard these heartbreaking words from her doctor.
She was told that something was seriously wrong with her baby girl when she received a routine ultrasound during her pregnancy.
Her midwife thought it might be Down syndrome (scientifically called Trisomy 21), but Alivia knew that they could handle whatever came their way as long as their little girl had a chance.
But the follow-up tests would prove the condition to be much more dangerous — baby Lillian had Trisomy 18.
Alivia shared her story with Café Mom: “I think back to the day those words shook my pregnant body to the core and crushed the deepest parts of my soul. I quickly went to Google searching for hope. Instead, I found none.”
Trisomy 18, also known as Edwards Syndrome, is caused by an error in cell division, resulting in an extra chromosome 18. It disrupts the development of the baby and can cause death in the womb or shortly after birth.
The condition occurs in about one in 2,500 U.S. births, and the life expectancy is typically under one year. Many of these children are stillborn.
Alivia and her husband moved away from home to be closer to a hospital that would be able to treat Lillian after she was born.
They prayed every moment to be able to hold their little girl and hear her cry – something so many of us take for granted.
“I had faith that she would be born alive and do amazing things,” said Alivia.
Despite the lack of hope from medical staff and in everything Alicia had read or heard about the condition, little Lillian was born alive – a precious four-pound baby that her parents were amazed by.
Despite the odds, the naysayers, and all the unknowns, Alivia says that every day is a miracle.
Lillian is now two, surpassing her life expectancy by leaps and bounds, and doing new things each day.
She has many complications and requires round-the-clock care, but Alivia says that “in those moments, I chose to live. We make the most of our situation. We laugh through hospital admissions. We sing through the storm. And we love more fiercely than we ever have. All because of one extra chromosome,” as reported by Café Mom.
Alivia is not the only mom who has chosen life for a baby diagnosed with Trisomy 18 – despite often being encouraged to have an abortion with those haunting words, “incompatible with life.”
Mommy Underground previously reported on the story of former presidential candidate Rick Santorum and statistics on Trisomy 18.
Santorum and his wife were given the same grim statistics and a hopeless prognosis when they found out their daughter had the chromosomal disorder.
But they fought for life, and Bella Santorum is now almost 11-years-old.
Doctors are beginning to see improvements in the life expectancy of children diagnosed with this horrific disorder.
Just as cases of Down syndrome were deemed “hopeless” in the 1960s and 70s, medical advancements are helping kids diagnosed with Trisomy 18 to live longer, and with a better quality of life.
While children with Trisomy 18 who live past infancy are still the exception, advancements in surgical procedures – especially on the heart — and feeding therapies are increasing the odds every year.
With the prevailing culture of death being pushed outside of any moral and ethical boundaries by progressives, the time to fight for the life of every child has never been more important.
Every human being has a unique purpose in God’s plan, no matter how long or short their lives, and every life is worth fighting for.
We pray for continued health and quality of life for little Lillian Kraft, Bella Santorum, and every child who fights each day to beat the odds.
What do you think of doctors who say any child is “incompatible with life?” Leave us your thoughts.