Monday, March 14, 2011

Baby Joseph: A Tale of Two Hospitals and A Priest with Some Chutzpah!

Hello, Coffee Talkers!

Many of you have probably heard by now the tale of 18-month-old Baby Joseph, who was denied a tracheostomy by a Canadian hospital and thus unable to have a chance at going home.

Fr. Frank Pavone of the Priests for Life heard of Baby Joseph's situation, and had this to say:
"I knew, after this dragged on day after day, that I needed to be here myself to get Baby Joseph to safety," said Father Pavone. "He needs to be in a hospital that cherishes life over the bottom line. After around-the-clock negotiations, this really became a race against time."
So Fr. Pavone went to Canada, and this morning brought Baby Joseph to a Catholic hospital in the US that would trach him right away! Man, I love Fr. Frank Pavone. I'm sure that quite a lot of people hate him, but that's high among the reasons that I love him -- it takes a priest with some chutzpah to completely disregard the opinions of others and do something extraordinary to preserve the human dignity of a baby and his family. Like Fr. Frank said, "Neither we nor anyone else knows how long he has to live, but that’s God’s decision."

Fr. Frank reported that the trach went well and that the hospital staff is happy with Baby Joseph's condition -- he is largely breathing on his own now and is responsive to touch.

Let's all continue to pray for Baby Joseph and his family, and for Fr. Frank Pavone and the Priests for Life. May we all live with such chutzpah!

Peace and all good,
Leslie

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