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My friends baby was born with no eyes and severe cleft palate
My friend Lacey Buchanan, 25, tells the inspiring story of her struggles raising her baby son named Christian, born with a rare form of disorder that has left him with a severe form of cleft palate and no eyes. There are only 50 cases of Tessier cleft worldwide. Lacey has been reaching out to others who suffer form craniofacial syndromes and other disabilities. She is scheduled to do speeches world wide. Lacey never considered abortion even when being told she should in her second trimester due to the risk of severe disability and possible death of baby before or after birth.
In the seven-minute video, Lacey Buchanan of Woodbury, Tennessee, fighting back her tears, shares her experience raising her baby, holding up photos with messages written on cards to the camera. During the seven-minute video, she holds the one-year-old baby to her chest and turns his face to the camera only at the end.
Her story begins with her joy after getting pregnant and then the heartbreaking news that her baby has a rare disorder. But the Buchanans are devout Christians and refused to abort the child.
According to her story, a week after she became pregnant, doctors told her and her husband Chris, that their baby had severe developmental problems and that there was an 85 percent chance of her miscarrying. But she overcame the odds and gave birth to the baby that has no eyes and whose cleft lips and palate were so bad that he could not close his mouth.
According to doctors, the boy suffers from what is called a Tessier cleft, a rare and severe form of cleft palate that affects different areas of the face, including the nose, jaws, eyes and mouth.
She delivered the baby at Vanderbilt Medical center in February 2011. Christian had his first surgery at four days old and though he was born without a palate, doctors have closed his cleft lip.
Lacey says that in spite of her Christian faith "things were hard." Most touching is the mother's account of how people react at the sight of her baby. Many ask, "what's wrong with your kid?" A girl told her she is a "horrible person" because she did not abort the child.
Buchanan proudly holds up one-year-old Christian for everyone to see. RadarOnline notes that in spite of his condition, Christian is a happy child bubbling with life. Lacey said of her son: ?Anyone who meets Christian falls in love with him pretty quickly."
You can go to her fan page at https://www.facebook.com/LaceyandChristianBuchanan
She also has a blog about Christian at https://www.christianbuchanan.blogspot.com
I also started a fundraiser to help with Christian's medical and therapies he is going to need at https://www.giveforward.com/laceyampchristianbuchanan. Christian is going to need a couple dozen surgeries in his life.
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Re: My friends baby was born with no eyes and severe cleft palate
I always admire women who agree to take the road less travelled and carry a baby to term that many would terminate. God Bless her and her beautiful family.
It's fine to be proud of her and share her story - but why choose to do it on a PREGNANCY board!?! Really? Are you kidding me??? As if most of us aren't freaked out and emotional enough, you have to tell a horror story about a poor little baby with a terrible, terrible birth defect (and he isn't even yours?)
Can we please stick to the positive and uplifting? Think before you post, please.
This IS a positive and uplifting story. OP, thank you so much for sharing. God bless that family and their beautiful child.
lovelylittleworld
BFP#2 1/12/12 ~ Missed M/C 8w2d
Huh? Did we read the same thing? Because I'm pretty sure that this is a positive and uplifting story. This was in no way a horror story, you jackasss...
I have little patience for thoughtless people who make sh!tty little comments like this about those who aren't "normal", or the "perfect" baby. One of my cousins had a child with severe cleft palate issues, and a friend of mine had a gorgeous little girl with Down Syndrome, and it's people like you, who act like such things are like a mark of the Beast of something, that make me ache for those children and their families. How about you think before you speak/post next time??
OP, thank you for sharing this story. I had tears running down my face, but I was smiling at that beautiful mama and her boy; he's absolutely precious!
Sorry we don't all get to live the happily ever after that happens in fairy tales. You think I chose for my newborn daughter to die? What an idiot. Keep living in lala-land. We don't have room for you in the real world.