Pol Light Moment #1 is a story from Michigan, where a family dealing with Trisomy 18 (Edward's Syndrome) in their daughter found encouragement from Rick Santorum. Rick Santorum served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1995-2007. The Michigan family was not even a constituent of this Pennsylvania politician but they share a common bond with him.
In the Spring of 2010 on a visit to Troy, Michigan, Sen. Rick Santorum met Brad and Jessi Smith, whose daughter Faith had recently been diagnosed with Trisomy 18. The politician took the time to talk to Brad Smith about his situation and offer some insight into the situation.
Like the Smith's, Sen. Rick Santorum and his wife Karen are the parents of a 3 year old girl named Bella who has Trisomy 18. Rick Santorum shared his heart about raising a child with special needs during a political debate in 2011. The related segment is available in a video on YouTube.
7 months after that first meeting, Sen. Rick Santorum visited Brad Smith at the radio station he worked at. Sen. Santorum had heard that Brad Smith's daughter Faith wasn't doing well. He took the time to explain some steps the parents needed to take and when he observed that Brad Smith was not listening he said, "You need to do this. If you don't do this you are going to lose your daughter." Brad Smith contributes that tough advice to helping him tremendously in raising his special needs daughter.
Here is a news story that covers this incident that made a difference for the Smith family in Michigan.
For more information about this story you can read an article at the Detroit Free Press.
Pol Light does not endorse political candidates. We present a brighter side to politics when they are found on either side of the aisle. We don't have to agree with all of a person's politics to recognize these bright moments.
Photo Credits:
- The photo of Sen. Rick Santorum is attributed to Cage Skidmore and is in the Creative Commons of Wikipedia.
- The graphic of the genetic code of Trisomony 18 is in the Public Domain courtesy of the National Institute of Health.
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