A US father has spoken of his love for his daughter who has Down’s Syndrome, after he tried to persuade his wife to abort her.
Sorry, we couldn’t find this video.Heath White, an FBI agent from Texas, was interviewed on American TV and said his five-year-old daughter Paisley is the “light in the darkness”.
Mr Heath has gone public with his story in order to save other parents from aborting Down’s Syndrome babies.
Mistake
He said: “Nobody knew the way I felt before she was born, and if I can keep one family, one person from having to live with the guilt and almost making the mistake that I almost made, it’s going to be worth the pain that Paisley will feel later in life knowing the way I felt”.
Back in 2006, he discovered his wife Jennifer was pregnant and scans showed the baby had Down’s Syndrome.
Mr White said his main concern was what other people would think of him.
Abortion
He said: “I did everything I could to try and force her into having an abortion.”
Jennifer Heath said she contemplated an abortion for about an hour because of her love for her husband.
She said: “He wasn’t ugly or rude or abusive or anything like that he was just absent, he just wasn’t emotionally there at all.”
Birth
But she said a little voice in her head said “no way it’s not happening”.
Mrs Heath gave birth to Paisley on March 16, 2007, and said she felt like she had “lost a baby”.
After she started feeding though, she said Paisley is “good, she’s perfect”.
Child
Mr Heath on the other hand took another few months to realise she was just like any other kid.
He said: “The turning point – I had her down and I tickled her and she laughed and giggled at me and tried to push me away.”
Before Paisley was born, Mr Heath ran competitively and he realised he could continue this together with his daughter.
Marathons
He ran while pushing Paisley in a special push chair, taking part in nine marathons and several 5K and 10K races.
He said: “Everything I’ve done everything I’ve tried to accomplish it was never going to be perfect but my love for Paisley is perfect.”
