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Subscribe to RSSNBC's Domenico Montanaro reports on Rick Santorum's daughter being taken to the hospital and the state of his presidential campaign.
Rick Santorum's daughter, Bella, afflicted with a chromosomal disorder, was taken to the hospital for the second time during this campaign. Santorum is home in Virginia for the Easter holiday.
"Rick and his wife Karen have taken their daughter Bella to the hospital," Santorum Communications Director Hogan Gidley said in a statement. "The family requests prayers and privacy as Bella works her way to recovery."
The Santorums have medical equipment in their Virginia home and and a nurse on call that can tend to Bella. Because of these accommodations, Bella only needs to be taken to the hospital when her condition is very serious, a person familiar with the situation told NBC News.
This is the second time during the campaign that his 3-year-old with Trisomy 18 has needed to be taken to a hospital. Santorum canceled events in late January after Bella was rushed to a Virginia hospital when she developed pneumonia in both lungs.
The Santorums prefer to take Bella to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, but the severity of the January incident caused the family to rush to a hospital closer to their Virginia home.
It is unclear at this time which hospital she has been admitted to.
Leave a Comment:
This is about a little girl who is sick and has a caring father not a about you:
Sick liberals of the Muslim Brotherhood on here. You need to study your facts on healthcare.
The true God will look after her and take care of her, our prayers go out for Bella.
I hope she recovers just not on my dime.
best wishes. But your kid has a preexisting condition. What do you and your fellow Republicans want to do with the rest of American that have preexisting conditions.
Santorum would be a better candidate to run against Obama as one is really conservative and one is REALLY liberal. A clear cut choice. Santorum wants to bring America back to it’s leadership role and Obama wants to finish crushing our current way of life. The scary realization is that too many people have been brain washed by the conventional media and give one sided education by union teachers. Teachers and media alike think that other forms of govt. are better than what we have (even though it is painfully obvious that these govts. have blatant human rights violations [be careful for what you ask for])
Dems, weren’t we all for the little guy? Now, dems and leftists talk despicably about anyone who disagrees with them. This behavior shows their lack of education, sophistication, and sense of fair play. After being democratic for all my life, I became ashamed of how ‘my side’ bashed the other side with no merit to the truth.
Can’t we all ‘just get along’ and send best wishes to the Santorum family for something that has nothing to do with politics.
Doglover, this is the best post I have ever read...you are 100 percent correct...I have watched the dems "operate" over the last 4 years and I am deeply disturbed with many of their actions and over the top statements...
The repubs are not perfect either but it appears "radicals" seem to have the stage etc...if we all want our democracy to survive we need to understand each other and do our best to meet each other half way...this war on the rich and the religious community needs to STOP!...it will not advance our society...
For the record I am an independent who has voted dem before...as of now, I will never vote dem again....
Mark,
If that is the best post you ever read you REALLY need to read more.
I don't know how a post about a sick little girl turned into an anti-Obama post. Yes, there were some a$$holes who posted mean-spirited things, but they do not in any way represent the typical Liberal/Progressive/Democrat.
Thank you Mark,
Best post ever, RIGHT. Probably Satorum staffers cruising the net responding to user's comments.
He's done. Time to go home and care for his little girl.
President Obama is a centrist, nimrod.
We all may have different political views, but we are all americans first whom all want our children happy, healthy and loved......My prayers are with Bella...hang in there girl!
When we were told our youngest daughter may be born with T18, we were also told what the outcome could be. We did not consider terminating, but knew that the outcome would not be good. I do not, and cannot, understand how this man can be away from home when he has a sick child to care for!!! I do NOT need him campaigning to "lead" me or this country...I would much rather he be home taking care of his family.
I can only hope Bella is not suffering; that her parents are present with her and that her father understands what he is really called to do.
May the blessings of Easter bring a recovery to Bella and a joy to her family. What they are going through is a parent's nightmare that all parents should be spared from having to go through.
Prayers to sweet baby Bella, her family and all doctors and nurses caring for her.
For those who have a disagreement with Rick Santorum your opinions would be welcome in an appropriate place. We have a sick three year old child so may we all hope, in our own way, that she get and stay well.
I sincerely hope Bella recovers quickly. And I agree, Santorum belongs at home with his family. They need him. The rest of the country does not. If his personal experiences made him a crusader for better health coverage for all Americans, I'd respect him, but to see him wasting his breath worrying about porn when there are so many more important issues is a slap in the face to the American people and more specifically to his sick child.
Here's a hard-core Democratic Party member and Obama supporter
who's keeping both you, Rick Santorum, and your beautiful daughter in his prayers.
God bless and grant peace to you and all your family.
It's a miracle that she's alive at three with Trisomy 18.
Agreed. This a lethal condition; if it weren't for Santorum's wealth and the round the clock medical care he can buy, this child would have been at peace long ago.
Some of you people are amazing. You can't drop the politics even for a minute to say a well wish for a very sick little girl.
You are the reason this country is doomed. You have lost you humanity. You have become rabid animals that need to be put down.
I don't disagee with the sentiment, but you kind of contradicted yourself with the "rabid animals that ned to be put down" statement.
what happened. This country is not doomed due to us bashing Santorum. Rick is the one who could care less about the children of America. His child is getting the best of care because of taxpayers. Do not bash any of us who are bashing a sick evil man. AND, WE ARE NOT BASHING BEAUTIFUL BELLa.
We have not lost our humanity just the people like Santorum, Rubio, Cantor, Ryan. This extreme right wing group are the ones without compassion.
slightlyold
My father taught me that there is a time and place for everything. This story is not about Santorum the politician, but about his daughter that is very ill.
Anyone who attack him politically here, now, quite frankly, you don't have enough intelligent to be given the right to vote. You are nothing but rabid animals with no humanity that need to be put down.
tensevol
No I didn't. If posters on here don't know the difference between a political story and a story about how sick a daughter is, then they have no humanity in their souls. They are nothing my mindless rabid animals that attack for no reason. They need to be put down like any other rabid animal.
As far as Santorum goes as a politician, I won't ever support a man who supports a church that hides child abusers from the law while allowing those Child abusers to continue to abuse children by putting them in a positions to repeat the child abuse while in hiding.
This Santorum is a man who wants the moral values of this church to become the law of the land. You've got to be a moron to support him.
Rick Santorum is fortune that he and his family have health insurance. Maybe Rick will realize that there are many parents who's children cannot receive care because their children have pre-exsiting conditions and therefore cannot get healthcare insurance. If the Affordable Care Act stays intact these parents will be able to get the healthcare for their sick children.
djj
If you think being a parent of a child with this condition is fortunate, then I would like to hear what you consider is a parents nightmare.
If you think that the affordable health care act would provide treatment to this child, then educate yourself about the Act. Under the Act this child could be considered unworthy to waste resources on, so she would be denied medical services and treatments.
@what happened,
djj didn't say they were fortunate to have a sick child but that they are fortunate to have health insurance that covers that sick child.
what happened -
you are wrong about the ACA. They would NOT deny treatment and there are NO panels to decide worthiness, only to evaluate the effectiveness of treatments.
Educate yourself.
Tnsevol
Are you a fool or a moron. The ACA is about producing profits for an insurance company, not providing health care services or treatments to patients. Medical services and treatment are only the secondary purpose of the ACA.
Since you are so knowledgeable about the ACA then you know that Obama's White House has already announced that 33 million Americans will not be able to receive any form of medical services or treatment from the ACA in order to protect the profit margins of the insurance companies.
Second since you so smart, then tell me how the ACA is going to be able to buy or supplement health insurance policies from a "for profit" insurance company considering that 46% plus of our population is living in or at the edge of poverty. Considering that Obama has created a debt crises that has put this country in debt in the amount of $15.4 trillion and growing, just where do you think the money is going to come from to maintain a profit for all those health insurance companies.
Just how good is the ACA when you have to start paying for it in 2014, but Americans won't be able to receive the full benefits until 2024.
What is truly amazing is that you don't understand that not only did congress exclude themselves from the ACA, they created provisions so many many others can apply for and get exclusions from the ACA. Just how good is this ACA, this national health care plan of , when anyone with any kind of money can get excluded from it?
And lastly. Health care is defined as a humanitarian need of people, not the profits of an insurance company. If you doubt this definition, the next time you need medical services or treatment drive to your insurance carrier's office and see how much medical services and treatments you get.
Lax Mom.
You hit the nail on the head. Every American should be fortunate to get the same medical services and treatments that someone like Santorum gets.
The reason I say this is because Health care is defined as a humanitarian need of people, not a profit for an insurance company.
Insurance companies have done a great job of brainwashing the American people into believing that Health care is defined as a profit for the insurance companies.
Americans no longer know the difference between health care and an insurance policy. They believe that the only way to get health care services and treatment is through a health insurance company. Well that's the big lie you all have swallowed hook line and sinker.
That fact that we have many, many successful nonprofit health care organizations operating on a persons ability to pay in this country today proves that we can create a national health care plan that everyone will have access to.
But if you Obama supporters would rather support the profits of an insurance company over the ability to get health care based on what you can afford to pay, so be it. But if you think your well being is going to take precedence over the profits of a health care company, you are living in the Obama fantasy world of make believe.
Politics aside, I hope Bella will get better soon, I agree with most of the people who commented about going home, the battle is taxing for both spirit and body of the fam, I'd rather have him dropped off from the race and be there for his daughter 24/7
Why is this news? There are thousands of children hospitalized everyday. This couple had a child in their late 40s, which is usually not advisable. They and they alone, are responsible for the problems it may have. Personally, I could care less. I'd rather watch paint dry, than to read this dribble.
Please do us all a favor and go watch paint dry!
Wouldn't it be great if we all could afford a full time nurse in our home and people on call when we got sick!
Thought they didn't believe in science... take her to the church and pray you hypocrite
You thought wrong. You shouldn't be commenting on things you don't know about.
This has to be tearing Rick S. up. I have a feeling he will be dropping out of the race shortly. No one should have to deal with a very sick child and an A$$ like Mitt.
You made a good run Senator. Time to put family before country for now
He should have already hung up his political shoes a while ago. Bella's situation should only serve as a reminder that he is not going to get what he wants.
Family comes first Rick, not delegates.
Romney has nothing to do with Bella or Rick's delegate count but Rick has everything to do with it. Having children when you're in your 40's is not usually a good idea and you take the chance of having children with physical abnormalities. That should never change the way you feel about them but it damn sure should keep you from running all over the country when you have a sick little girl at home who could benefit from seeing her father.
This is not the time for Santorum and it may never be but it has absolutely nothing to do with any of the other candidates. He chose to run like the others and everyone comes across as an @!$%# from time to time. Rick can keep complaining about the delegate count, negative commercials, campaign contributions, super pacs, etc but if he continues to believe he still has a shot at the white house, he will miss more precious moments with a precious soul.
Time to go home Rick and do what's right. Stay in the campaign and you'll damage any clout you have left.
She can't stomach her fathers double talk that's what it is. His campaign is making her sick
That's just wrong. And I am as blue as they come. Wouldn't vote for a republican if they held a gun to my head. What you said is just wrong.
Surgeries and surgeries, she is going to need a lot of surgeries and 24/7 acute nursing care. Pray that she is going to have a good surgeon and a compassion medical team.
Who is going to pay for all of that?
Whose healthcare plan will pay for this??
Sending my heartfelt thoughts and prayers. Be strong, little Bella. Daddy, you do the right thing when you go home. Warm thoughts for all of your family.
Santorum really needs to drop the campaign and focus on his little girl. He has the money to stay home and be with her. Being out on the campaign trail when he has no chance to win makes him look less and less like a responsible parent.
He would never forgive himself if he should lose Bella while he is campaigning somewhere.
Priorities Rick Priorities
Even though I agree, if I were in his shoes I would choose to stay at home with my child. Ultimately it's his (and his family's) choice.
Bill T USA: why don't you go take a dip in quick sand you fool..