Mosaic Trisomy 16

Brodie Feeney

9S science

10/13/2014

Mr Youell

Mosaic Trisomy 16

After reading many stories written by mothers and their children I came across the saddest and one of my favorite of all the stories found on a foundation website for the families who have had to deal with trisomy 16 DOC 16. This is the story of Blake William.

 Blake William was stillborn on January 19, 1999. He was the firstborn of the William family and everyone was very excited to celebrate the new baby. His nursery was decorated and ready and there pregnancy had been going perfect. The family decided to have an ultrasound to see their baby for the first time. All of Blake's organ's developed normally. His only abnormalities were a club foot and simian creases in his palms. No heart defects or abnormalities. At 37 weeks the mother had her last ultrasound. They watched their boy suck his thumb and even give them a smile. Those were the moments they treasured not knowing it would be their last. All this excitement and happiness quickly turned. They went for their checkup and they could not find a heartbeat. They did an ultrasound only to find Blake's lifeless body. They had then learned that their son had mosaic Trisomy 16.

The Trisomy 16 shown in a Karyotype

The tragic disorder that ruined the William family and many other families is Trisomy 16. This disorder affects the fetus dramatically giving mental or physical disorders or the fetus will not live through to the birth such as what happened to Blake. There are two specific versions of Trisomy 16, Mosaic and Full Trisomy 16. Full Trisomy 16 means it impossible for the bay to live past the birth and mosaic means they have a slight chance of living. Even though Blake had mosaic Trisomy 16 he was unlucky but others born with Trisomy 16 can be completely normal and live a normal life or have serious brain and muscle issues. More than 50% of all miscarriages are caused by chromosomal disorders, of all the Trisomy disorders, Trisomy 16 seems to be the most common in humans occurring in 1% of all pregnancies. Only 100 children with Trisomy 16 live through till adulthood each year. Everyone should understand how important these disorders are and how many people they affect each year and it is proven by all the supporters of just this Foundation, Doc 16.