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THIS PIECE WAS taken from a comment posted on TheJournal.ie on the story about Senator Paul Bradford saying he believes there are no babies with fatal foetal abnormalities.
Senator Bradford, I would ask you to read my personal story and then rethink your insensitive comments. This is about choice. Many women choose to continue with their pregnancy and that is their choice, which should be supported. Others feel it’s best for their baby and for them and their family to end the pregnancy.
Myself and my husband were trying awhile to have our third baby. We found out on New Year’s Eve 2011 that I was pregnant and were both thrilled, as were our eight-year-old and five-year-old boys.
At my 13 week scan the sonographer recognised there was some fluid around the baby’s head and asked me to call my husband. This is when I knew there was something badly wrong.
My husband arrived and we were sent to see the consultant. After an hour we went into the consultant room for a more detailed scan. There we were told that the baby had a cystic hygroma and was very likely to have a fetal chromosome abnormality.
We were told that our baby would either die in the uterus or die straight after birth but more likely I would miscarry before 20 weeks. We were told the baby would not live and that there was no hope.
‘Knowing that at any moment she could die is like being in a horror film’
The consultant was amazing, compassionate, supportive and sympathetic.
I turned to the consultant expecting her to offer us an induced miscarriage or termination and I said, ‘So what now?’
Her response was to let nature take its course or go to Liverpool Women’s Hospital to have a termination. To say we were shocked was an understatement. Firstly to be told your baby has no chance of survival, then to find out we would have to travel to Liverpool for help only added to the pain. We were devastated and so so angry that we could not receive the treatment we needed here in Ireland.
We waited for the CVS results (a prenatal test considered to be 98% accurate in the diagnosis of chromosomal defects) but I knew in my heart there was no hope.
We received the results and the baby had trisomy 13 (patau’s syndrome) which is a cruel, horrific syndrome not deemed compatible with life. Our baby’s other organs had not developed correctly either. This was the most devastating news we could have received.
To walk around with your little baby growing inside you knowing that at any moment she could die is like being in a horror film. So frightening, so devastating.
‘I’ll never get over that we had to leave the love and support of our family’
We were not going to allow our baby to suffer. We were not going to allow our living boys to suffer and finally, I was not going to allow myself to suffer for a potential further 28 weeks. My suffering at the time was unbearable.
So we made the decision to travel to the women’s hospital in Liverpool. The maternity hospital gave us all the information we needed so myself and my mother made all the arrangements which was a heart breaking task, and also having to leave our two boys behind and arrange for someone to take of them.
My parents, husband and myself arrived on the Sunday evening and on Monday morning on 5 March 2012, I was brought in to have the termination.
The staff were very kind and tried to make the procedure less traumatic for us. I was put under general anesthetic. I left the hospital three hours later and we arrived back in Dublin on the Monday night heartbroken and devastated.
I can face the fact that this baby was never going to make it, but I will never get over the fact that we had to leave the love and support of our family, friends and the staff from the maternity hospital.
It was all very traumatic and extremely cruel to be sent to another country for the termination.
We were lucky to have access to the money, as I know a lot of people wouldn’t. We won’t ever forget the very much longed for and loved baby that we lost which we named Skye and I plan to bury the scan photos with my granddad.
But I will hold on to the anger of having to travel to another country to receive the help and treatment that we needed so badly at a horrible time in our lives.
I have since gone on to have a beautiful little girl called Freya who was born with a cleft palate and many other issues. This difference, Senator Bradford, is something that you and your party need to acknowledge.
Baby Skye had 0% chance of survival, baby Freya was born with special needs. I hope that you can understand the difference.
Arlette Lyons is the co founder of Terminations For Medical Reasons Ireland (TFMR) and is a mum to two beautiful boys and a very special daughter.
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The Irish Proclamation basically says ”Ireland for the Irish”,,, the politicians of today would do well to remember that,,,
@Finian McG:Politicians off ALL the partys!
@Finian McG: you may interpret it that way if you want but a hundred years on that thinking just won’t wash…
@David Cotter: Well they died to get people OUT of Ireland,,,certianly NOT to bring a load of them in!!!
@Finian McG: yet hundreds of thousands of Irish went to England after that war because Ireland was a basket case…..what an embarrassment that was….
@Finian McG: They are long dead, what they thought is irrelevant! It’s now we live and folks would do well to remember that and try to get to grips with the now instead of trying to reflect the past!
@David Cotter: For them maybe, they are dead and gone, it’s therefore no longer an embarrassment as you mistakenly think but a practical necessity which generally considerably outweighs embarrassment tbf.
@Finian McG: Define ‘Irish’?
Some difference between the leaders of 1916,and the modern day politicians. Worlds apart
@Jb Walshe: Current leaders don’t have guns
@Sal Paradise: Or a clue what they’re at!
@Jb Walshe: Could you list the differences for the crowd? Doubt it ngl!
@Jb Walshe: The leaders of 16 knew they were involved in a fools errand.
Padraig Pearce and all the men and women who fought for our countries freedom would turn in their graves if the saw what’s happening today.
@John doe: that man along with de Valera made sure we were beaten with an iron fist, unfortunately we have FF still
@John doe: They won’t you needn’t worry!
And the state of the country now
@Fintan Pox: Class country. Pearse and co. world new so proud. We have made huge strides in the past 100yrs. But you have a moan to keep yourself happy.
@Sal Paradise: lol
@Fintan Pox: Easter Eggs and complaining on The Journal. You must have had a great day?
@Fintan Pox: compared to mass poverty, tenement houses, Magdalene laundries etc??
@Sal Paradise: dream on
Patriots of 1916 must be turning in their graves with the organisation that stole the SF name who act as cheerleaders for the depraved actions of Provo terrorists who engaged in murder, rape and abuse.
@Pat Hazzard: And the brits and loyalists were just victims and innocent too….I do love when people try to rewrite history, the RA were no angels, but given who they were fighting, both sides were as bad as each other, but the shinners living rent free in your head seems to forget that part
@Tom Newell: ‘who they were fighting’ they planted bombs, executed ‘off duty’ security forces, engaged in sectarian murder along the border farms, shot into churches, work vans, hotels. ‘Fighting’ catch yourself on. They were sectarian murdering thugs. Nothing more.
Absolute traitors the lot of them. The very, very worst.
@Paul Kavanagh: all they’re worried about is when their next pat on the head from the EU or woke NGOs is coming.
They’re sellouts
“The 1916 proclamation was read out in full by Captain Paul Murphy, who learned it off by heart”. Well, why did he need to read it out, then?
@Max: maybe he was dyslexic…..
The patriots of 1916 would be very angry at the INEQUALITY shown by our politicans to the citizens of Ireland. After the next general election 11 people will be gifted a job as a Senator. Millions of Irish citizens DO NOT GET A VOTE with regards to choosing members of the Senate. And the politicans wonder why the people are angry. Enda Kenny picked a friend of his who was and still lives in AMERICA.
@rory Mcgovern: No they wouldn’t.
@rory Mcgovern: we had a vote to abolish the seanad , people voted against it
No sign of Jeffrey ?
@Sat Nav Maps: No answer from his door in London, either.
@Sat Nav Maps: Benzos?
Considering there are irish people of all 360 degrees of whatever all over the planet and yet a few frightened little right wing manboys, think this island is overcrowded because of a few migrants
@Robert Halvey: your a Manboy….
@Robert Halvey: not overcrowded if that’s the way you want to put it, just homelessness increasing regardless of were you’re from but sure let’s increase homelessness some more and sit wondering why.
The Seanad was supposed to have been reformed. It has NOT BEEN. AMAZING and SAD what the population accepts. Mickey d has spent too long in the Arus if he thinks that the values of 1916 proclamation still true today..He will be shocked next year when he has to start spending his own money.
@rory Mcgovern: I doubt it. The little faux-socialist, naval gazer will be on a fine fat pension. Can’t wait to see the back of him and his token wife.
Retire Mick ffs u agreed to 1 term..
Flags and borders will be the last remnants of a bygone age. Money, wealth, power, all badly handled be the simple human mind. Still we don’t fix the problems that affect us on a daily basis or consider the vastness of the universe and how to access it… lads are
like ‘this shiny is mine’… we wait
The men who fought for that would be rolling in their graves. We have had the country 108 years and are giving it away to non nationals and Muslims and Islam’s. Ridiculous and heart breaking
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