Heroes Part 1

I have decided to start a new series of blog posts. From time to time I am going to post about heros I have met or heard about. I don't have many heros and the ones I do have are usually are not the types of heros that most would choose to emulate.

Todays hero just happens to be the governor of Alaska. She is a 44 year old Republican, but I guess you have to be in some sort of party to get elected. She just found out that she is pregnant. That is always good news. Here is the story.

Alaska governor eager to rear child
May 5, 2008
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The results of Gov. Sarah Palin's prenatal testing were in, and the doctor's tone was ominous: "You need to come to the office so we can talk about it."

Mrs. Palin, known for a resolve that quickly launched her from suburban hockey mom to a player on the national political stage, said, "No, go ahead and tell me over the phone."

The physician replied, "Down syndrome," stunning the Republican governor, who had just completed what many political analysts called a startling first year in office.

She had arrived at the Capitol on an ethics-reform platform after defeating the incumbent Republican in the primary and a former two-term Democratic governor in the general election. Her growing reputation as a maverick for bucking her party's establishment and Alaska's powerful oil industry quickly gained her a national reputation.

Now she is trying to balance caring for her special-needs child and running a state.

The doctor's announcement in December, when Mrs. Palin was four months pregnant, presented her with a possible life- and career-changing development.

"I've never had problems with my other pregnancies, so I was shocked," said Mrs. Palin, a mother of four other children.

"It took awhile to open up the book that the doctor gave me about children with Down syndrome, and awhile to log on to the Web site and start reading facts about the situation."

The 44-year-old governor waited a few days before telling her husband, Todd, who was out of town, so she could understand what was ahead for them.

Once her husband got the news, he told her: "We shouldn't be asking, 'Why us?' We should be saying, 'Well, why not us?' "

There was never any doubt the Palins would have the child, and on April 18 she gave birth to Trig Paxson Van Palin.

"We've both been very vocal about being pro-life," Mrs. Palin said. "We understand that every innocent life has wonderful potential."

Down syndrome is caused by the presence of an extra chromosome in the fetus' cells. It's a genetic abnormality that impedes physical, intellectual and language development.

The mother's age is a large factor in the chances of having a child afflicted with Down syndrome. Once a woman turns 40, the chance is 1 out of 100, according to the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Three days after giving birth, Mrs. Palin returned to work in her Anchorage office, accompanied by Trig and her husband.

This was not a mother's typical visit to the office to show off the new baby; instead, she was serving notice that a child of special needs would not hinder her professional commitments.

"It's a sign of the times to be able to do this," she said. "There is no reason to believe a woman can't do it with a growing family. My baby will not be at all or in any sense neglected."

Neither, Mrs. Palin said, will the state, as she prepares to lead deliberations for a multibillion-dollar natural-gas pipeline. She calls it the economic future of the state, a means of getting North Slope natural gas to consumers throughout North America.

"I will not shirk my duties," she said.