Rick Santorum’s daughter hospitalized
posted at 11:15 am on January 29, 2012 by Jazz Shaw
On Thursday and Friday, some of us (including yours truly) were speculating over whether or not Senator Rick Santorum would be remaining in the hunt for the nomination when news broke that he was returning to Pennsylvania from the campaign trail in Florida. Now it’s very likely that the news was somewhat different and far more disconcerting. Reports are coming in that the Santorums’ youngest daughter, Bella, has been hospitalized.
Rick Santorum’s 3-year old daughter has been hospitalized in Philadelphia, his campaign said Saturday.
“Rick and his wife Karen are admitting their daughter Bella to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia this evening,” Santorum spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement.
The reason for the hospitalization was not provided.
Santorum’s Saturday morning campaign schedule has been canceled, but Gidley said the former Pennsylvania senator intends to return to the campaign trail as soon as possible.
While I knew that their youngest girl was a special needs child, I had not previously heard that she had been diagnosed with Trisomy 18, a malady which apparently causes those afflicted with it to be born with an extra copy of their 18th chromosome. (I’d never even heard of this condition before this weekend.) According to the A.D.A.M Medical Encyclopedia, this is a very serious condition with an extensive list of possible developmental complications, and the prognosis is not promising:
Half of infants with this condition do not survive beyond the first week of life. Some children have survived to the teenage years, but with serious medical and developmental problems.
Take a moment on this Sunday to send your thoughts and prayers for the Santorum family as they deal with this situation in the midst of a hectic presidential campaign. As of this morning, CNN is reporting that the Senator has cancelled all of his Florida events again today and will stay with his family.
Blowback
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You don’t have to tell me if I’m wrong, but I’m betting white male, 20-25, BA, almost done with school, good grades (mostly B’s, a couple of C’s, but everyone thinks I’m smart), single, no children. I remember those days. BS for me, but still. I was well read and knew everything, I could talk to any girl, I was a great driver…
But again, mostly I knew everything.
Regardless, Hawk didn’t engage me. You did, and you were dragging the same chains in the same pond:
And now your frustrated ad hominem:
Well played, sir. Well played indeed. The advanced mind of the philosophizer shines through yet again.
I expected it eventually, but a poot joke? Seriously? FWIW, I’m balding, too, if you like. I have a visible skin graft on my left jaw. I use a wheelchair. And I have massive burn scars on my arms and legs. They’re atrophied, btw. Pretty badly. And I usually smell like menthol from my topical treatments, too. And I’m reaaaally slow doing things for myself. I do okay on the toilet for now but I still have to get help with my clothes sometimes. And I use slip-on shoes because my fingers don’t have the dexterity to tie knots anymore. And I have grab handles all over my bathtub. I have to hunt out of one of those pre-built picnic-table looking things in the woods, and I’m the crippled guy who is allowed to lower the gate and drive down the farm road.
So c’mon, you can do better than a flatulence insult. Go for it! Call me names! Keep winning! I just gave you a wealth of strong non-poot “arguments” to incorporate into your technique.
That’s how smart people win arguments in philosophy, right?
rogerb on January 29, 2012 at 11:08 PM
I said a prayer for Bella and her family. The Santorums have been through enough. I wouldn’t wish this heartache on ANYONE.
Laura in Maryland on January 29, 2012 at 11:09 PM
Did Salem really think it through when they did wild-assed open registrations here at HotAir? Did they realize they were turning HA into a blog tent-city with Occupy HotAir People defecating on their bandwidth? Whiskey Foxtrot Tango were they thinking?
TXUS on January 29, 2012 at 11:09 PM
I “answered” one comment. I answered the comment in a manner that didn’t continue our conversation. That was not outside what we had agreed to. You continued to comment non-stop on the subject we agreed not to talk about.
Also, you’ve now told me to F. U. and screw you after you’ve made plain and in no uncertain terms, that is why you’re angry and insulting. I have not returned any such insult in return. Why can’t you control what you’re writing and keep it on an intelligent, adult level?
hawkdriver on January 29, 2012 at 11:11 PM
“those” implies others, and you said “let’s leave our comments at this”. I cut it out there for emphasis on the relevant portion.
Random on January 29, 2012 at 11:12 PM
Oh for the love of Pete…
Is there a PM function in this joint?
El Dillo on January 29, 2012 at 11:15 PM
You’re sticking with that excuse?
hawkdriver on January 29, 2012 at 11:16 PM
I’ve seen you repel them in the past!
KOOLAID2 on January 29, 2012 at 11:28 PM
Bella is going to be okay, philly.com (the Inquirer) is reporting and quoting Rick Santorum as the source. A few more days in the hospital, but then home.
Prayers answered.
Adjoran on January 29, 2012 at 11:36 PM
Does anyone think it’s rude to leave a protracted conversation without commenting that you’re done?
hawkdriver on January 29, 2012 at 11:43 PM
Prayers, do get answered sometimes. Good!
KOOLAID2 on January 29, 2012 at 11:43 PM
I’ve noticed that has been happening frequently lately…especially since the last open reg.
KOOLAID2 on January 29, 2012 at 11:48 PM
He did seem upset when he quit, no?
hawkdriver on January 29, 2012 at 11:53 PM
They wanted the influx for the primary carnival. Quality exchanged for quantity, although I do detect some good ones stepping up to the plate on occasion. Salem made a business decision to cash in on the HA reputation.
a capella on January 30, 2012 at 12:06 AM
Chief, he was upset because you destroyed him. If you don’t mind a noob saying it, he understood what you meant in your agreement with him. I read the comments and I took it that you meant to stop your conversation or the off topic conversation. And you actually did. He didn’t. And if he’s too stupid to understand what was meant, he’s not worth your time. As a matter of fact, he’s just worth your time. From one All American to the other, I’d say you were wasting rounds on an enemy who already went Winchester.
smoothsailing on January 30, 2012 at 12:06 AM
Youbetcha!
KOOLAID2 on January 30, 2012 at 12:13 AM
smoothsailing,
I’m not sure what a real All American would be doing with a Navy sounding name but I’m going to take you at your word. You seem like a smart kid, but no one here is our enemy. I’m sure you didn’t mean that. You are right in the sense he probably wasn’t worth the time but someone would have ended up trading comments with him sooner or later. It’s hard to not try to defend those we see defenseless.
Okay, turning it in here then. Do you wear four aces?
hawkdriver on January 30, 2012 at 12:17 AM
a capella on January 30, 2012 at 12:06 AM
Disagreement makes things interesting-but some of the n00bs are down-right vitriolic. When it’s pointed out to them they accuse the old-timers of being whiny, insular, has-beens who are unwilling to cede some of their ‘territory’ to the new blood.
That’s the response I’ve gotten ,anyway.
annoyinglittletwerp on January 30, 2012 at 12:18 AM
Chief, the name is a reference to a lady who did something really nice for me. It helps me remember my Mom too. She was really politically active also. I did wear the Double Deuce for a time but was 101 went I got out.I could wear either.
I didn’t mean that guy was an enemy either. I am off to bed here, Hooah Chief!
smoothsailing on January 30, 2012 at 12:25 AM
Hooah smooth. I’m taking it you meant the Eighty-Deuce on both shoulders. You’ll have to tell us more about your time on another thread. Or you can drop an e-mail here. And don’t worry because it’s a throw away address.
hawkcontractor@gmail.com
Nite, kid.
hawkdriver on January 30, 2012 at 12:33 AM
Yeah, I know, and I hate echo chambers too. I guess my earlier point was that I don’t mind helping chase off the real bad ones, but if Salem is going to periodically repeat the process, I question if the effort is worthwhile. I understand the need for new blood and increased hits, but, Ed or AP can do more with a banhammer in half an hour than the rest of us oldtimers can accomplish in several months of trying to restore some semblance of decency and order. I am a bit bothered by the official latitude given our new crop of thread hijackers.
a capella on January 30, 2012 at 12:34 AM
Some of you are.
(ducks)
hawkdriver on January 30, 2012 at 12:37 AM
Got it. Chief if you don’t like the Navy sounding name you can call me Smitty. It’s what every calls me.
smoothsailing on January 30, 2012 at 12:37 AM
Your screen names fine.
hawkdriver on January 30, 2012 at 12:38 AM
I would really hope it’s not all about economics and a healthy bottom line.
hawkdriver on January 30, 2012 at 12:44 AM
I would also like to think that, but, I suspect that’s why they bought the site. Nothing wrong with them making as much profit as they can, but, I’m questioning how much time and energy I want to commit towards trying to maintain some decent standards, if this will be a regular occurence, with little mod oversight.
a capella on January 30, 2012 at 12:54 AM
Much the same feelings here. Really off to bed here now. Take care a capella.
hawkdriver on January 30, 2012 at 12:59 AM
Have you all been harassing the recently-registered posters, again?
Well, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK ! That’s all.
As you were, carry on . . . . . . : )
listens2glenn on January 30, 2012 at 1:33 AM
Holy balls, hawk.
I hope you made sure no one (me, for example) was behind you, before you said that.
That girl’s got a LOT of ‘arm’. : )
listens2glenn on January 30, 2012 at 1:59 AM
Tell you what, don’t want medical intervention . . . don’t go to a doctor. Your kind will always be the first to extend their own life for that is the only one that matters to folks like you and Kagan. Eugenics by any other name . . .
At least Hitler had the guts to tell the folks he despised that he despised them. Folks like Kagan will couch it in some pseudo intellectual crap about not possessing the right mix of good experiences and outcomes vis-a-vis the normative in postmodern societies as they snuff you.
As I have stated before to you: natural selection has allowed us to alter natural selection. But live the lifestyle of an ape, literally, if you wish as natural selection has given you the choice to do so or to alter your surroundings for your own benefit. You are right we are animals; animals with a brain that reasons and a brain that can through the body it is in alter its surroundings and we are animals with a soul.
Your last sentence speaks volumes. Exactly what is a bad life and who are you to judge?
The child will have a good life for as long as she is alive because life is inherently good! I pray to God that this child lives to dance at her grandkid’s wedding. If this child passes away she will have done volumes in her short life by simply touching the hearts and souls of all who came in contact with her. It will be our loss not to have been touched by her. Life is a gift from God and needs to be treated as such.
I stated before in another thread that any day above ground is a good day and you replied that that statement was nonsense. My reply in case you missed it was to do the experiment and get back to me with the results.
If human life possesses no inherent value then you get slavery, gladiatorial games, communism, human wave attacks, human sacrifices, Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, Tojo, any petty dictator etc. etc. It never ends well.
You and your kind are sick jokes.
This thread was intended to be a forum for those in the HA community to express their hopes and desires and prayers to the Santorum family that their little girl return home safely and quickly and well (as can be expected) and not be a place for your rants on how we are ruining our genome by using our brains and the scientific method to eradicate diseases, genetic and otherwise. There are other forums in the HA universe for such discussions; this is not one of them.
Bubba Redneck on January 30, 2012 at 2:28 AM
Bella is going to be okay, philly.com (the Inquirer) is reporting and quoting Rick Santorum as the source. A few more days in the hospital, but then home.
Prayers answered.
Adjoran on January 29, 2012 at 11:36 PM
I’m happy to hear that. But all prayers are answered one way or the other. It’s that sometimes we don’t like the answer we get and we say, ” Some prayers don’t get answered.” When in fact the answer we get is NO!Sometimes God doesn’t even bother to listen…
Shain1611 on January 30, 2012 at 8:27 AM
Guess we’re done. See you all next thread.
rogerb on January 30, 2012 at 8:58 AM
I was a little struck by your physical condition you described above. It’s good that you’re able to soldier on.
hawkdriver on January 30, 2012 at 9:29 AM
I’ve seen lots of repellent folks around here at times. Oh, that’s not what you meant…….
GWB on January 30, 2012 at 9:59 AM
Keep up the good work, Hawkdriver. And, don’t let the logorhea (of others) get you down.
GWB on January 30, 2012 at 10:07 AM
Thanks. I was badly burned a number of years ago and had a pretty rough time of it. Still do on some days, honestly. I’m not ashamed to say it was faith and a loving, beautiful family that got, and gets, me through it.
FWIW, quality-of-life-wise, I’m sure the, ahem, “ethicists” would just close the burn centers down. They’re extremely expensive and the ongoing physical/mental problems completely change even us stable and stoic folks.
“Reduce suffering” and what not, y’know. It’s for the best. I mean, we wouldn’t keep a dog alive in that condition… /
rogerb on January 30, 2012 at 10:48 AM
I live in STL. We have a morning show that talks about everything. One of the topics they discussed this morning was burn victims. Apparently low income and uninsured meth producers are modifying their manufacturing processes to deal with ever decreasing access to ephedrine. They have made their process more prone to fire, and subsequently been flooding burn centers…and been bankrupting them.
tom daschle concerned on January 30, 2012 at 11:07 AM
There are a lot of assumptions here, the main one being that Santorum is the only one who can fix these problems, which necessitate that he “leave” his family, forfeiting the short time his daughter has.
I don’t ask them to do that. We have no draft, either with our military or our presidential candidates. I have great respect for the men and women who give up so much to serve, but I’d never ask them to do that.
Anyone who decides to serve either in the military or any other demanding portion of government, needs to make that personal decision as to whether or not the sacrifice is worth it. I’m merely wondering is Santorum has done that. I assume he has, but this story just makes me wonder regardless.
You got all of that from one line, eh? Well, every thread is full of mind readers. This one should be no different.
Thing is, my point is precisely the opposite. I agree that our leaders must sacrifice. If he becomes our president, he can’t take a break from that title just because his daughter is sick or if, God forbid, she gets worse. He will work long hours and likely not have the opportunity to be the best husband he can be to his wife, no matter how hard this may be for her or how much she might need him. If he’s the president, ultimately, we need him more, and he’ll need to understand that.
Again, I assume he’s thought this through and talked it over at length with his wife. But he’s still so young, that I don’t personally understand why he decided to run now instead of waiting.
Esthier on January 30, 2012 at 12:12 PM
I find it fascinating that you think we’re treating the dog with more respect instead of realizing it’s the dog we care less about and thus are more willing to put down.
Human life is uniquely valuable. Aside from those with vast disposable wealth, we rarely spend even just thousands on vet bills and some times will put an animal down simply because it’s cheaper.
Human life is often pain, but that doesn’t mean it’s worthless. That’s just such a shallow view of the world and your own life.
That’s not the only way we surpass animals, even when we’re at our worst.
But Abraham DIDN’T kill his son. Killing his son was NEVER the point of the story. The point was obedience and not putting anything, even your own children, before God.
You can try to distort it if you want, but that story does not support killing your children because they’re inconvenient or uncomfortable.
Esthier on January 30, 2012 at 12:36 PM
I still don’t understand what’s so wrong/immoral about billing people for their healthcare and, like a mortgage, setting up a long-term payment plan if need be.
They’re idiots for putting themselves in that position. That said, I feel empathy/sympathy for them as they endure it. I’d passed 4-6mm kidney stones before, but even with that I never really understood the phrase “I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy” until I got burned. Somewhere around day six, once the open-wound stage started, it was like nothing I’d ever experienced or imagined. It completely recalibrated my idea of pain.
rogerb on January 30, 2012 at 1:33 PM
“Burns” are the WORST injuries that we can experience. : (
BTW, I’ve had several kidney stones, the biggest of which was not more than 2mm.
Most of them were smaller than that, and they HURT. But I’d rather go thru that again, than suffer severe burns. I know I would.
listens2glenn on January 30, 2012 at 1:48 PM
Me either. Maybe the idea is that hospitals can’t wait 20+ years for full payment? But isn’t that better than not getting anything or making other people pay for someone else’s treatments? Besides, if everyone was expected to pay for his own medical care, wouldn’t that mean people would go less often when it’s not necessary, thus freeing up doctors and hospitals for only those who truly need care?
Esthier on January 30, 2012 at 4:15 PM
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