A LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT  
May 23, 1999 Dear President and Mrs. Clinton, Please take action on designating September 9, 1999 as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Awareness Day! Please read our family's story about our adopted daughter Maria. Maria was born to a mother who drank socially while pregnant. Her mother's decision to have a few drinks of alcohol while pregnant has sentenced Maria to a lifelong disabilty. Maria has Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. With this diagnosis comes the prognosis of "NO CURE". Maria has numerous problems caused by her mom "having a few drinks" while carrying her in-utero. Maria has a brain that is significantly smaller that other children her age. Her brain will never "catch up". She has numerous problems with fine motor, gross motor activities and speech. She has very sensitive hearing which does not allow her to sleep due to soft noises at night or to participate in group activities (it is too over-stimulating). Both of her eyes have weak muscles and optic nerves which cause both of her eyes to drift in and out of focus. Her brain damage has caused her to lag behind in developmental functions and does not allow for Maria to have a sense of fear. She has NO fear of heights, growling dogs, plants with thorns that have pricked her numerous times, STRANGERS and etc.. She will NEVER have a normal sense of fear and will NEVER be able to learn to fear dangerous objects or people. Maria's brain is damaged in the center of her brain mass. This means that the rule for "do not touch growling dogs" stored on the left hemisphere of the brain cannot stop the impulse to touch the dog which comes from the right hemisphere. The two hemispheres cannot work together because the center portion of her brain was damaged by the social drinking of her mom. Maria's central nervous system was also permanently damaged by her mom's drinking during her pregnancy. At two years of age, Maria is hypertensive because her brain cannot regulate her blood pressure. Maria is also GROSSLY hyperactive and cannot sit still to even have two pages of a book read to her. She cannot sit still to eat in her high chair. She has to be fed while she walks around and around the dining table. Because of her hyper- activity it is impossible to take her anywhere or to put her in her carseat. Combining her complete lack of fear and the hyperactivity is a lethal combination and Maria must be watched 24 hours a day. This means that she has to ALWAYS be in sight because she is essentially CRAZY. Maria also has numerous sensory problems and seeks high stimulation. She will spin herself around until she falls over and vomits. She pulls out her hair, twists her ears and bangs her head on the walls. Her sense of pain is almost nonexistent. Looking at other Fetal Alcohol Syndrome children, it is clear that Maria will have MAJOR learning disabilities that are not correctable FOREVER. Most FAS kids never learn above 4th grade. Maria's lifelong prognosis, from reviewing other FAS adults, is that she has a 50% likelyhood of ending up in prison or locked in a mental hospital. PLEASE HELP STOP THIS COMPLETELY AVOIDABLE DISABILITY!!!!!!!!! PROCLAIM SEPTEMBER 9, 1999 AS FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME AWARENESS DAY. Sincerely yours, Dr. and Mrs. Mark L. Fennema |