If you did not see the recent story in the Cincinnati Enquirer about the Cordier family's decision to welcome their newest daughter into the family, it's a beautiful read. After learning of her diagnosis with Trisomy 18, medical personnel were shocked that the Cordiers did not choose an abortion. Instead, they are cherishing every unexpected, miraculous moment with their little girl.
For a time, Ann says, she felt a “black cloud” hovering over her. She knew that babies with Trisomy 18 die when the brain stops sending signals for them to breathe and for their hearts to beat. But that cloud passed.
“Then I was able to enjoy her life, rather than focus on her death,” Ann says. “I also felt this sense of duty to share her with everyone who had been praying.”
Says Andy: “It’s been a lot of prayers. That’s what we feel. The calming effect, just the joy. She’s got a bad condition, but just look how beautiful she is.”
Back in August, before classes started, Ann took Sophia to St. Gertrude School on the day kindergartners and first-graders met their teachers. She and her baby went from classroom to classroom, greeting teachers and families. Since then, Sophia has been to church and elsewhere in the community.
Before Thanksgiving, though, the family was again reminded of the fragility of her life when Sophia caught a cold that developed into pneumonia. She has nearly recovered now, although she still wears an oxygen tube in her nose.
“I’ve actually been praying for a peaceful death for her, thinking it’s imminent, but it might not be,” Ann says. “She has surprised every doctor, every nurse at hospice.”
It’s not common, but some children with Trisomy 18 live into early adulthood.
The Cordiers have tried to prepare themselves for whatever awaits.
“We focus on, should she die, what’s next for her,” Ann says. “It’s heaven. And she would be perfectly happy with Jesus in heaven.”
Read the story here.
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