Just days after soliciting prayers for their unborn son, Torrey and Chanel Smith are sharing part of their struggle with the world. Torrey tells his blog readers about the doctor’s visit that changed his and Chanel’s life.
“Before we left California to head back east, Chanel had another doctor’s appointment,” the star athlete shares. “A few days later we are back at our house in Baltimore when Chanel received a phone call from her doctor. I wasn’t really worried until I saw her facial expression and body language change. So I walked over to hear what she was talking about and I heard ‘1 in 25 chance of Trisomy.'”
Trisomy 18 is a disorder that causes babies to have too many chromosomes. Development in such individuals is much slower than average persons because of the additional nucleic acids. It is estimated that 1 out of every 3,000 to 5,000 births are affected by Trisomy 18.
Although the Smiths’ may be one of those little ones impacted, the celebrity couple remains hopeful. “I’m not worried about it a single bit,” Torrey exclaims.” I always believed that it takes special parents to provide and show love to a kid with special needs. I’ve been around kids with ‘disabilities’ my whole life and understand how special they really are. I can imagine TJ being the best big brother and taking up for his younger brother no matter what his challenges may be. I will teach Torrey that every person is unique just like him. I’m looking forward to grooming both of my young men.”
Torrey and Chanel have a toddler named Torrey Jr., who will celebrate his second birthday next month. They are expecting their second child, Kameron, to arrive in coming months.
