Baby Home Plan

By: Matthew, Mary, & Lauren

Mental and Physical Effects:

Sawyer will never go to school because she will have severe mental delays along with all of the
other diseases it has like the PKU and cryptococcus. The physical effects of Edwards Syndrome
are an abnormally small head, abnormal deviation of fingers, clenched hands, episodes of no
breathing, defects of the heart and kidneys, increased risk of infections in the lungs and urinary
system, low-set ears, a small mouth and jaw, and a cleft lip, as well as a condition called
exomphalos in which the intestines are contained in a sac outside of the stomach (Edwards).
Since she is recovering from cryptococcosis, she may still have breathing problems
(Cryptococcosis).

Mental and Physical Assistance:

Due to the mental and physical complications of our babys health, Sawyer will need to be under
full-time in-home care in which she has a nurse with her at all times. It is crucial that along with
this care, she receives routine health checks such as a regular ultrasound of the abdomen. Sawyer
will not do well learning, so in the rare occasion that she lives past the age of one, she will need a
tutor, speech therapist, and a physical therapist. Also, due to the cryptococcosis infection, she
will need to have routine check-ups to make sure that there are no severe fungal growths. Sawyer
will have to have a special low-protein diet. As long as her diet is restricted, PKU will be easily
controllable and wont have any serious symptoms.

Home Modification: Sawyers room will need to be on the first floor of the house and will
resemble a hospital room. The door to her bedroom should be wide to allow the transfer of
equipment in and out. There will need to be a lot of electrical outlets for the machines and
equipment needed to keep her stable. She will need a bathroom in a close proximity to her
bedroom for the use of her nurses. She will have a nurse with her at all times and nurses will
rotate so someone can be at her aid 24/7.

Medical/Biotechnological Options: She will need to be in a NICU and she also needs in-home
nursing. She will need a defibrillator that will help to resuscitate her if her heart were to stop. She
will need to be constantly monitored and watched. We will need a Biomedical technician to fix
any of the machines if they were to break. This baby will need to be on a machine to live due to
the severity of the disease and it will have a less than 10% chance to see her first birthday
(Chitayat). Edwards Syndrome is the second most common trisomy, after Down Syndrome. Due
to the fact that Sawyer will need help eating, she will need to be fed through an enteral pump or
gastrostomy tube (Hatfield). She will also need breathing assistance such as a ventilator or CPAP
machine (Home). Sawyer will need a stable environment such as a NICU along with specialized
care to help Sawyer adjust to living outside the womb. If Sawyer survives the early stages of
infancy, she will need a walker and a specialized chair to help her sit up. Sawyer will also need
to be on a breathing machine because of any breathing problems having to do with
cryptococcosis.

Irritants and Allergens Effects: Some irritants that can affect the baby's health are like dust and
pollen. They can affect the baby because with the combination of Trisomy 18, PKU and
Cryptococcus, she has a very weak immune system. She will need to be in a room that is
sterilized every day due to her weak immune system. It is likely that she won't ever be able to
leave the house due to all of the germs that can be transmitted in the outside world. It is
important that with this sterilization, we are careful of carcinogens that could be in the cleaning
products. It is important that we are mindful of the chemicals in the cleaning products and that
cleaning products with fewer harmful chemicals are used to lower the exposure to carcinogens.
We should also be mindful of other carcinogens like tobacco smoke by making sure that none of
Sawyers caregivers are smokers and reducing exposure to sunlight by making sure she is
wearing sunscreen in any case that she is outside (Known).

Myths: The myth about how being around electromagnetic fields eventually causing cancer first
came about in 1979. But later on, tests were done and no significant effects were found in
relationship to electromagnetic fields. This myth first came about when more children living in a
Denver neighborhood near power lines were getting Leukemia (Power). Due to the high
frequency radiation from the power lines people and scientist also believed that that could be
causing cancer. Some household items that have been proved to have radioactive frequencies are
televisions, microwaves, digital and gas meters, cordless telephones, radars, and radio and
television signals. There has been no significant proof that cancer can be caused by
electromagnetic fields therefore it still remains a myth (Electromagnetic).

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