3-year-old Bella has Trisomy 18
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has been spending time in the hospital with his 3-year-old daughter Bella, who came down with pneumonia over the weekend, says Detroit Free Press.
On Sunday, Santorum spoke with reporters over the phone from his daughter’s hospital room. The former Pennsylvania senator said, “Doctors hope she can go home in the next few days,” but she, “isn’t out of the woods yet.”
While Santorum has cancelled some campaign events to spend time with Bella, he told reporters, “We’re going to get out on the campaign trail later tomorrow … heading out to the Midwest, and start campaigning in the next states as we move this campaign forward.” Santorum’s 20-year-old daughter Elizabeth was sent to Florida to campaign for him on Sunday.
Bella was born with Trisomy 18, a genetic condition caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 18th chromosome. The condition usually proves fatal, and Santorum has said in the past that Bella was not expected to live longer than 12 months.
Read more about Rick Santorum and Trisomy 18 here.
