The mother of a little girl with Down syndrome recently wrote a heartfelt open letter to her doctor who had advised her to abort her baby.
Courtney Baker, a resident of Sanford, Florida, sent the letter to the Parker Myles Facebook page, in the hopes of offering strength to others.
The Story Of Courtney Baker
Baker said her first two pregnancies were easy and that she expected her recent pregnancy to have been easy, too.
But a few weeks after knowing that she was pregnant, her baby was prenatally detected with Down syndrome.
The doctor told Baker how difficult life would be tending to a child with the condition. Baker said he made her feel unsupported.
But she knew she couldn't hold on to any feelings about that day any longer, so she wrote the letter. She said it was therapeutic for her to send it to him.
She told the doctor that her life has improved ever since she gave birth to Emersyn Faith, who is now 15 months old.
"Every action, from opening and closing the mailbox to raising the red flag, was closure for me," said Baker.
Baker said she does not have any idea how her doctor might have reacted, but that she has faith that "God can work any miracle and he can change any heart."
The Letter
In her letter, Baker said a friend of hers had told her about her own experience.
The friend's specialist would see her child during sonograms and would say, "He's perfect."
Her friend's child was also born with Down syndrome.
When her friend visited the doctor with her child, the doctor looked at the little boy and said, "I told you. He's perfect."
Baker said her friend's story tore her apart. Although she was grateful for her friend's experience, she was filled with such sorrow.
"I wish you would have been that doctor," Baker wrote.
During the time Baker came to her doctor, she was terrified, anxious and in complete despair.
She did not know yet the complete truth about her baby, but she said that was what she needed from her doctor.
She said that instead of encouragement and support, the doctor suggested that they terminate the child. He asked the Bakers if they fully understood how having a child with Down syndrome would decrease their quality of life.
Ever since that visit, Baker said they had dreaded appointments with the doctor. She said the most difficult time in her life was made even more unbearable because the doctor did not tell her the truth.
"My child was perfect," said Baker.
Moving On
Baker said she was not angry or bitter, but she was incredibly sad. She said it was because the doctor was very wrong to say a child with Down syndrome would decrease their life's quality.
Mostly, Baker said she was sad that the doctor will never have the privilege of knowing her daughter Emersyn.
Her daughter has indeed added to their quality of life, she said, and has even touched the lives of others. She said her daughter had given them a purpose and the kind of joy that is indescribable.
Baker summed up her feelings at the end, saying she hopes that when the doctor sees another baby with Down syndrome, he will look at the child's mother and finally tell her the truth.
Her full letter is posted at the Parker Myles Facebook page.
