Baby with Trisomy 13 Defies Odds after Parents Reject Abortion, She’s Now 7

Kathleen Rose, kid, born with condition called trisomy 13, a chromosomal disorder associated with intellectual and physical disorders. People with trisomy 13 often have microphthalmia, small and not developed eyes, heart defects, irregularity brain, or spine cords, extra toes and fingers, a cleft, opening, in the lip, and hypotonia, weak muscle tone. Many babies with the condition die within few day, or weeks, and only 5% to 10% babies live up their first year.  Most babies with trisomy 13 have three pairs of chromosome 13 instead of usual two pairs. Patau Syndrome also occurs when part of chromosome 13 attaches to another chromosome during the formation of reproductive cells, egg and sperm. It can also occur during the early fetal development. These statistics as LifeNews.com says did not cause an abortion, but in fact, her parents, Tracy and Tom Harkin decided to give the baby a chance.

“We were now parents to a very special little girl. After she was born, Kathleen Rose was now termed ‘life limited’. Doctors told us she would be mentally and physically handicapped and might not even survive her first year”. Despite the limitations, family wanted to give the baby any chance possible to reach her full potential. Few times, doctors suggested an abortion, but for Harkin family, it was never an option. They wanted to let baby reach its full potential, not being afraid of people saying “that baby should not be here”.

Figure 1: Kathleen Rose with her mom, Tracy

As shown in figure 1, Kathleen is now 7 years old, and as Harkin’s said “She had defied all the medical experts. Kathleen Rose is not incompatible with life. She is the love of our lives!”  Tracy thinks that too much pressure is put on parents with an upcoming child with a chromosomal disorder. Parents are told to abort their children, but sometimes they just need little bit help and care to survive and live their life to the potential. Tracy concluded by saying “Sometimes the picture that is painted is so bleak, but the reality is doctors never know because every single child is different. And to say “incompatible with life,” it’s just not logical because the child is living and breathing in the womb.” I think children like this are inspirational to the whole society. Even though they are small and not able to live a normal life, they will bring hope and faith to parents and to children across the globe.