Posted on 12/19/2009 6:03:24 AM PST by NYer
Pueblo, Colorado - Nicholas Coke, a baby boy from Pueblo is a living miracle. He was born with no brain. He can’t see, hear, crawl or suck, but still managed to make a history. This week he has completed his one year’s tough fight for survival.
The disease Nicholas was born with is called Anencephaly. It’s a genetic disorder in which a person has no brain, just a brain stem. Anencephaly is a defect in the closure of the neural tube during development in the womb. The neural tube is a narrow channel that folds and closes between the third and fourth weeks of pregnancy, forming the brain and the spinal cord. In rare cases, one end of the neural tube does not close. This results in the absence of a major part of the brain, skull, and scalp.
Anencephaly occurs in about 1 out of 10,000 births, although the exact number is not known because many of these pregnancies result in a miscarriage, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
The cause of anencephaly is unknown, although the mother’s diet, including an insufficient intake of folic acid, may play a role. Most scientists, however, believe many other factors are also involved.
Nicholas, the miracle child has survived without doctors, or tubes. Her mother Sheena told that he even showed sign of emotion. It was his first smile that brings solace to her poor mother.
They are celebrating every moment as they didn’t know when that fateful moment would come and they had to witness their child breathing his last breath.
We wish Nicholas a Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas. May God bless him.
As fragile humans, we can never know for sure.
My grandfather was in the final stages of a series of mini-strokes that were killing him. He was a proud, strong WWII veteran who was ending his life the one way he didn’t want to — mostly catatonic in a nursing home. He spent his days slumped over in a chair, unable to communicate, watch TV, etc.
The one thing he’d always loved were vanilla shakes. His body was shutting down so I brought him one, knowing he could still use a straw. He was about halfway through when, eyes still closed, he called me by name and said “I don’t want to live like this.”
I knew He was there at that moment. The great I AM gave me the words, “I know, Grandpa, but there’s something left that God wants you to do for him.”
The pain of that moment still haunts me, but I’m glad I was there. And those words were given to me.
Apparently they can't figure out the kid's gender either.
My condolences to you and your family.
I also wish Nicholas a Happy Birthday and a Merry Christmas.
What about the parents? I'll bet they wouldn't give back one second of time spent with their child.
This child is as precious to Jesus as any other.
Abort in a case like this? You are starting to draw a line that others may draw in a different place and it might be your child then.
Look at little Trig Palin. Over 90% of prediagnosed Down Syndrome babies are aborted. Does Trig look happy? Is his life worth living? Does he bring happiness to his family?
We MUST stop playing God. NO CHILD SHOULD BE ABORTED.
The photo shows a child with microencephaly, that is, minimal brain structures. A child with anencephaly would have not cranial capacity and very doubtful survival. Without large sections of the brain, functionality, emotionality and thought is reduced to almost nothing. Smiling is a reflexive response in this case. Love life, and God bless the mother who will care for this unfortunate child.
This is one of my favorite quotes:
“You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.” C.S. Lewis
I know someone who has a severely brain damaged child. I've seen that the boy will respond to physical discomfort, but I haven't seen anything which indicates an emotion. His mother is sure he has them.
God bless them all. The children wouldn't survive without absolute devotion to their care. I don't know how the parents do it.
What a witness to the awesome power of God.
I've known folks with no personality, but I do believe they still have souls. ;o)
What a wonderful way to put that! I agree completely!
In cases where someone has major brain damage, sometimes other parts make up for the difference. The brain stem is controlling his life functions, so it does make you wonder if some of the other functions we think he may not have may be compensated with the areas he does have? How much is wired into genetics (functional compensation rules?) to redirect functions?
(I don’t know, just wondering).
+1
I’m at a complete loss to understand how someone can even survive without a brain.
I’ll just attribute this to a miracle and leave it at that.
May God bless this little child.
I like that quote!
Nicholas has a brain STEM, which apparently is allowing him to breathe, and his heart to function.
I thought those functions were controlled by the brain, not the stem.
Like I said, I’m at a loss to understand these things.
The brain stem is a pretty complex piece of machinery, it contains the midbrain, medulla oblongata, and the pons and is responsible for a lot of these basic functions. The medulla, for example, controls respiration and heart rate. The pons controls things like facial expressions, digestion. Interestingly enough, the midbrain controls awareness. The child may be able to not only survive but have basic environmental awareness. What will be lacking unless there is a compensation that takes place, will be memory and processing, sight, hearing, etc. In other words, he will have very basic survival functions.
I’m sorry. I love life, I hate abortion, but letting this child live is simply wrong. The child is, and will forever be, a vegetable. No hope for it, unless somehow brain transplants become common place. Flame me if you want, but my heart goes out to this child who can NEVER have a decent life, or even any life as we know it.
LOL! Good one.
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