Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought it was very strange. Santy said he wanted his kids to see the baby ...it just seems so weird. I also think it is exploitative to talk about it and his kid who he called "disabled"...he needs to get with the lingo "challenged"

What is so wrong with disabled?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not the Eugene Robinson article, but this Slate article really speaks to Santorum's hypocrisy on this issue.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2012/01/05/rick_santorum_has_worked_hard_at_denying_you_the_medical_options_he_was_ready_to_use_.html

These articles disgust me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not the Eugene Robinson article, but this Slate article really speaks to Santorum's hypocrisy on this issue.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2012/01/05/rick_santorum_has_worked_hard_at_denying_you_the_medical_options_he_was_ready_to_use_.html

These articles disgust me.

I just took Letters to Gabriel off my shelf. It is the book Karen Santorum wrote after the death of her son, Gabriel Michael. It was given to me when I lost my son, who was named Michael Jude. The book brought me great comfort.

She explains the medical progression of the situation in great detail. Anyone who actually cared could pick up the book and read it. But so many people are so blinded by their agenda and their hate, they cannot even have the decency to let the facts speak for themselves.

A routine ultrasound showed a fatal defect in their baby: "obstructive uropathy associated with posterior urethral valves." This was due to a "posterior urethral valve," a non-working valve in the urinary system which would not allow urine to leave the body. There was no amniotic fluid ("oligohydramnios"), because urine could not leave the body.

They were given no hope at first, but then they were given three options: termination, waiting for natural miscarriage, or fetal surgery to partially correct the obstruction. A full corrective surgery would have to wait until birth, but the hope was that by inserting a catheter shunt into the bladder, urine would be able to leave the body and create amniotic fluid, and would keep their baby alive until he was old enough to be born.

They chose fetal surgery. But first, they had to determine kidney function by doing two bladder taps. The kidneys did not appear to be functional according to the ultrasound, and surgery would be futile if the kidneys were already damaged beyond repair. The second bladder tap (surprisingly) showed some kidney function, so they proceeded with the surgery.

After the surgery, Karen began to run a fever and have cramps. When the doctors began to run tests to see what was wrong, they did another sonogram, which showed the surgery had worked! Their baby was surrounded by amniotic fluid, moving and energetic.

But at the same time they heard that news, Karen's fever spiked to 105 degrees, and it was confirmed that the infection was in the amniotic sac. The only way to fight the infection was to remove the amniotic sac. She kept begging them to do anything to save their baby, but they said there was nothing they could do. She was already in labor. They needed to start high doses of antibiotics immediately, and they wanted to give her pitocin to hurry labor. She consented to the antibiotics, but not the pitocin.

She had worked as a neonatal intensive nurse, so she knew her baby would die by being born at 20 weeks. As the antibiotics began to take effect and she became more lucid, she discussed the situation with her family and her doctors, and everyone assured her that everything that could be done had been done. She had to let her baby be born.

But she still refused pitocin, and she began to get worse. Her husband begged her to let go, to stay with her other children and with him, and to let Gabriel be born to die. He was finally born at 12:45AM, quiet and with eyes closed, but pink and with a beating heart. Gabriel was bundled in a blanket, kissed and hugged, and loved for the two hours he drew breath. He died in his father's arms.

When the staff came in and said they were ready to take him to the morgue, Karen objected. She wanted to keep him with her until he was buried--she did not want him lying alone and cold in a morgue. They left the hospital and went to her parents' house. They were surrounded by family and friends, and they asked their older children if they would like to hold their little brother. Their children held him very lovingly, and whispered to him that he was beautiful. The funeral mass was held there, in the home. The funeral directors gave them time to hold him a little longer, and then he was buried in the family plot.

That is what happened. They did everything they could to save their son's life. There was never a moment that they tried to hurry his death. Gabriel was a stillbirth. He was born, and then he died shortly after birth. Karen went through childbirth, just as she did for her children who lived.

Shame, shame, SHAME on those talking heads who would exploit the death of a child for their twisted purposes.

OP here.
I am a left wing liberal, but what brings you, me, and Karen together is the pain that we felt in similar situations.
I agree, that it is shameful that anyone would criticize this.
I feel no need to justify my behavior when my son died.
God bless you, and I am sure that you are proud of your son as I am of mine.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not the Eugene Robinson article, but this Slate article really speaks to Santorum's hypocrisy on this issue.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2012/01/05/rick_santorum_has_worked_hard_at_denying_you_the_medical_options_he_was_ready_to_use_.html

These articles disgust me.

I just took Letters to Gabriel off my shelf. It is the book Karen Santorum wrote after the death of her son, Gabriel Michael. It was given to me when I lost my son, who was named Michael Jude. The book brought me great comfort.

She explains the medical progression of the situation in great detail. Anyone who actually cared could pick up the book and read it. But so many people are so blinded by their agenda and their hate, they cannot even have the decency to let the facts speak for themselves.

A routine ultrasound showed a fatal defect in their baby: "obstructive uropathy associated with posterior urethral valves." This was due to a "posterior urethral valve," a non-working valve in the urinary system which would not allow urine to leave the body. There was no amniotic fluid ("oligohydramnios"), because urine could not leave the body.

They were given no hope at first, but then they were given three options: termination, waiting for natural miscarriage, or fetal surgery to partially correct the obstruction. A full corrective surgery would have to wait until birth, but the hope was that by inserting a catheter shunt into the bladder, urine would be able to leave the body and create amniotic fluid, and would keep their baby alive until he was old enough to be born.

They chose fetal surgery. But first, they had to determine kidney function by doing two bladder taps. The kidneys did not appear to be functional according to the ultrasound, and surgery would be futile if the kidneys were already damaged beyond repair. The second bladder tap (surprisingly) showed some kidney function, so they proceeded with the surgery.

After the surgery, Karen began to run a fever and have cramps. When the doctors began to run tests to see what was wrong, they did another sonogram, which showed the surgery had worked! Their baby was surrounded by amniotic fluid, moving and energetic.

But at the same time they heard that news, Karen's fever spiked to 105 degrees, and it was confirmed that the infection was in the amniotic sac. The only way to fight the infection was to remove the amniotic sac. She kept begging them to do anything to save their baby, but they said there was nothing they could do. She was already in labor. They needed to start high doses of antibiotics immediately, and they wanted to give her pitocin to hurry labor. She consented to the antibiotics, but not the pitocin.

She had worked as a neonatal intensive nurse, so she knew her baby would die by being born at 20 weeks. As the antibiotics began to take effect and she became more lucid, she discussed the situation with her family and her doctors, and everyone assured her that everything that could be done had been done. She had to let her baby be born.

But she still refused pitocin, and she began to get worse. Her husband begged her to let go, to stay with her other children and with him, and to let Gabriel be born to die. He was finally born at 12:45AM, quiet and with eyes closed, but pink and with a beating heart. Gabriel was bundled in a blanket, kissed and hugged, and loved for the two hours he drew breath. He died in his father's arms.

When the staff came in and said they were ready to take him to the morgue, Karen objected. She wanted to keep him with her until he was buried--she did not want him lying alone and cold in a morgue. They left the hospital and went to her parents' house. They were surrounded by family and friends, and they asked their older children if they would like to hold their little brother. Their children held him very lovingly, and whispered to him that he was beautiful. The funeral mass was held there, in the home. The funeral directors gave them time to hold him a little longer, and then he was buried in the family plot.

That is what happened. They did everything they could to save their son's life. There was never a moment that they tried to hurry his death. Gabriel was a stillbirth. He was born, and then he died shortly after birth. Karen went through childbirth, just as she did for her children who lived.

Shame, shame, SHAME on those talking heads who would exploit the death of a child for their twisted purposes.

Anonymous wrote:The death of your child is so terrible that it should be out of line to criticize anyone for pretty much whatever way they choose to best deal with it.

Anonymous wrote:This is not the Eugene Robinson article, but this Slate article really speaks to Santorum's hypocrisy on this issue.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2012/01/05/rick_santorum_has_worked_hard_at_denying_you_the_medical_options_he_was_ready_to_use_.html

Anonymous wrote:The death of your child is so terrible that it should be out of line to criticize anyone for pretty much whatever way they choose to best deal with it. Those who have not lost a child should ESPECIALLY not dare to judge what is appropriate for others who have suffered that horrible loss to do.