I can respect a woman's decision to terminate (although it wouldn't be my own in this case) if she found out her child had CF. However, I think that people are underestimating themselves, when they say that they don't think they could handle having a "disabled" child. I am in a unique situation. Not only do I have a genetic disease, but I am going into the field of genetic counseling. For those of you who have not heard of this, genetic counseling is involved with carrier testing and so forth. Once, I saw a woman who had had 5 miscarriages. When she found out her 6th pregnancy would have Down Syndrome, she terminated. This woman said she knew she couldn't handle it. I was baffled by this decision. I guess what I am trying to say is no one knows what they can handle until it is on their plate. Do you think any of our parents ever thought they would be spending so much time at hospitals with their child, be giving daily chest pt - of course not. But they all did it. My dad said they would have still had me, regardless, and I don't think he was just saying that for my benefit. While no one would chose a child with CF over a healthy child, adversity strengthens us. And, let us not forget, we are not merely CF embodied. In addition to a CF patient, I am so many more things! CF has in many ways made me the person I am today. My parents have many sad memories, yes, and maybe a day doesn't go by when they don't wonder if I will outlive them or not. But, I have no doubt this life is worth living.
