This is 2-month-old "Jie-Jie." He was born with a third arm. He also has only one kidney. I'm attaching the Associated Press Release below so you can read more.I post this picture and story not because Jie-Jie is some sort of spectacle to be stared at and wondered about. I post it because Jie-Jie is a precious human life.
All around the world, doctors and nurses would probably have encouraged Jie-Jie's parents to abort him because he is "deformed." They probably would have argued that it was in the baby's best interest because he would have to grow up a mutant. They probably would have argued that since Chinese families can only have one child (is that still the case?) they wouldn't want to waste it on Jie-Jie.
Here in America, people will abort their babies because they have a hairlip. They kill their children out of convenience for themselves and call it being thoughtful for the well-being of the baby - "we wouldn't be able to give him/her the life he/she deserves...he would have grown up poor...he would have grown up ridiculed."
So instead, you think it's better for him to not grow up at all?
Praise God for the parents of this precious boy who chose life. Praise God for Jie-Jie and the call he has on his life.
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Doctors in Shanghai are considering surgery options for a two-month-old boy born with an unusually well-formed third arm.
Neither of the boy's two left arms were fully functional and tests had proven unable to determine which was the more developed, said Dr. Chen Bochang, head of the orthopaedics department at Shanghai Children's Medical Centre.
"This is the first case I have ever seen as a doctor. I looked through medical documents and searched on the Internet and I could not find any other abnormal cases like this," said Chen.
The boy, identified as "Jie-jie," also was born with just one kidney and may have problems that could lead to curvature of the spine, according to local media reports.
Jie-jie cried when either of his left arms was touched, but smiled and responded normally to other stimuli, the reports said.
Chen said doctors hoped to work out a plan for surgery, but the boy's small size made it impossible to perform certain tests that would help them prepare.
"The best result of the operation is getting rid of the weaker arm in terms of function and shape while making some repairs on the one we keep. We'll try our best to enable the remaining arm to function normally and make sure the baby can lead a normal life by himself," said Chen.
Media reports said other children have been born with additional arms and legs, but in all those cases it was clear which limb was more developed.
Shanghai Children's Medical Centre is one of China's most experienced in dealing with unusual birth defects, including separating conjoined twins.
Like Jie-jie, many of the children are sent to Shanghai from the inland province of Anhui.
1 comment:
Miles, my 6 year old, was born with an extra pinky finger on one of his hands. It was frightening at first because we didn't know if there were any other internal abnormalities. It turned out that it was just the finger and we were very lucky.
With all three of my pregnancies I opted not to have an optional blood test done that screens for spina bifida (sp?) and a couple of other birth defects. I talked about it with my doctor and we agreed that it was unnecessary because I was going to carry my babies full term no matter what.
I will never forget a picture that I saw once in a magazine. A doctor was doing surgery on a baby in utero. I'm not sure how far along the pregnancy was but the picture showed the baby's tiny hand grasping one of the surgeon's gloved fingers. It was amazing...and proof that life begins before birth!
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