Right at the outset of her pregnancy, Christina Fisher from Florida knew what she had to do. She didn’t have money. She was sleeping in a caravan. The father of her unborn child had fled.
If there was any possibility of her baby living a good life, the only thing she could do to make it happen was to give her up for adoption.
It wasn’t by any means an easy decision, but she got in touch with an adoption agency and made arrangements. Soon she found a few people interested in taking her child.
Photo credit: Newsner
Sadly, things took a different turn.
“The daughter, named Abigail Lynn, was born with Treacher Collins syndrome, caused by a mutation in a gene on chromosome 5,” said a Newsner story. “It made little Abigail’s face look a little different, something that shocked the adoptive parents to the point that they refused to adopt the girl.”
In fact, the adoptive mother who was supposed to take Abigail screamed, cried, and fled the hospital as soon as she saw the baby, never to be heard from again.
Christina took this as a sign that it would have to be her who needed to take care of her daughter.
Photo credit: Newsner
“I realized then that I could never leave her,” Christina said.
A fund raiser has been set up to help Christine care for her daughter and help them establish a more or less secure life together. Well-meaning strangers from all over the world has thus far raised at least $24,000.
Abigail will need to undergo a couple of corrective interventions when she is a little older, but she is a healthy baby otherwise.
Not only that, she will also be able to live a normal life.
Next page find out more about Treacher Collins Syndrome
Treacher Collins Syndrome
According to Rare Diseases, the signs and symptoms of Treacher Collins Syndrome vary significantly from one person to another—even among members of the same family.
Some may have mild symptoms that can go undiagnosed, while others may have significant abnormalities and the potential for life-threatening respiratory complications.
“The major features of TCS affect certain bones of the face, ears and soft tissues around the eyes,” says Rare Diseases. “Affected individuals develop distinctive facial features and potentially hearing and vision problems.
“The abnormalities of TCS are typically symmetric (almost identical on both sides of the face). Symptoms are present at birth (congenital).”
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