Brain-Dead Cancer Patient Gives Birth
In a remarkable story of human suffering and new life, a brain-dead cancer patient has given birth to a baby girl. Susan Torres, a 26-year-old researcher at the National Institutes of Health had metastatic melanoma which had spread to her brain. Susan collapsed on May 7th, the day before Mother's day, as a result of a stroke, which was found to be due to a previously undiagnosed melanoma. The stroke left her unconscious and brain-dead. Susan's husband, Jason Torres, was told by doctors that his wife's brain functions had ceased and there was no hope for survival.
After the stroke, Susan was kept on life support for three months to give her fetus time to develop to the point that a successful delivery might be possible. The baby girl was delivered on Tuesday by Caesarean section, at which time Susan was about seven months pregnant. The surgical delivery reportedly went smoothly. The baby girl, named Susan Anne Catherine Torres, weighs 1 pound, 13 ounces and is 13 1/2 inches long. She is being cared for in the neonatal intensive care unit at the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington.
Jason Torres, Susan's husband, had quit his job to be at his wife's side at the hospital, spending each night sleeping in a chair next to her bed. The couple have one other child, 2-year-old Peter, who has been living with his grandparents while the family waited for the delivery. A website has been set up to help raise money for the family's medical bills, which reportedly are tens of thousands of dollars per week. The website can be found at www.SusanTorresFund.org.
The hospital declined to release information regarding Susan's condition or whether she was still connected to the life support machines. According to Dr. Winston Campbell, director of maternal-fetal medicine at the University of Connecticut Health Center, the English medical literature has reported at least 12 other cases since 1979 of a woman being kept alive on life support to deliver a baby.
In a remarkable story of human suffering and new life, a brain-dead cancer patient has given birth to a baby girl. Susan Torres, a 26-year-old researcher at the National Institutes of Health had metastatic melanoma which had spread to her brain. Susan collapsed on May 7th, the day before Mother's day, as a result of a stroke, which was found to be due to a previously undiagnosed melanoma. The stroke left her unconscious and brain-dead. Susan's husband, Jason Torres, was told by doctors that his wife's brain functions had ceased and there was no hope for survival.
After the stroke, Susan was kept on life support for three months to give her fetus time to develop to the point that a successful delivery might be possible. The baby girl was delivered on Tuesday by Caesarean section, at which time Susan was about seven months pregnant. The surgical delivery reportedly went smoothly. The baby girl, named Susan Anne Catherine Torres, weighs 1 pound, 13 ounces and is 13 1/2 inches long. She is being cared for in the neonatal intensive care unit at the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington.
Jason Torres, Susan's husband, had quit his job to be at his wife's side at the hospital, spending each night sleeping in a chair next to her bed. The couple have one other child, 2-year-old Peter, who has been living with his grandparents while the family waited for the delivery. A website has been set up to help raise money for the family's medical bills, which reportedly are tens of thousands of dollars per week. The website can be found at www.SusanTorresFund.org.
The hospital declined to release information regarding Susan's condition or whether she was still connected to the life support machines. According to Dr. Winston Campbell, director of maternal-fetal medicine at the University of Connecticut Health Center, the English medical literature has reported at least 12 other cases since 1979 of a woman being kept alive on life support to deliver a baby.
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