Alex Simpson has just made history as she turns 20 years old.
When Alex Simpson was born in Nebraska, she was a happy and healthy baby. But when she was 2 months old, the family got a devastating health diagnosis for her that shocked them.
Doctors said that Alex had hydranencephaly, a rare birth defect that impacted her brain development.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, this condition is when a newborn ‘is missing certain portions of their brain called the cerebral hemispheres.’ This usually happens one in 5,000 to one in 10,000 pregnancies.
Alex was born with no brain. According to her father, there is half a pinky-finger’s worth of brain in the back of her cerebellum.
Shawn and Lorena Simpson, who are Alex’s parents, were given a bleak diagnosis. They were told their daughter would not live past the age of four years old.
However. Alex has just celebrated her 20th birthday. When asked by the media how Alex made it to her 20th birthday, her parents responded by saying she did it with ‘love.’
Shawn went on to speak to the media and say, “Twenty years ago we were scared, but faith, I think, is really what kept us alive.”
Alex cannot see or hear because of her condition but her loved ones think she can feel when they are near her.
“You can see that when I went up there and talked to her a little bit ago, she was looking for me,” Shawn shared.
Alex has a younger brother, SJ who shares the feeling. The teenager said, “Say somebody’s stressed around her. Nothing will even happen — it could be completely silent — but Alex will know. She’ll feel something.”
When Alex had turned 10 years old, her mother spoke to the media and shared her anxieties about her daughter’s first 10 years of life.
“It was terrible to not know if she was going to make it through the night,” Lorena said in an interview at the time.
“So for three years, I would sleep with her, making sure that she’s breathing, making sure that she’s moving. Every night I was praying and praying she’d make it through,” she shared.
Shawn also shared back then that he hoped people would see his daughter’s life is valuable despite her disability.
He said, “A lot of people think she’s just a vegetable, and we have heard tons of negative comments. It’s one of our missions in life to let people know that just because people are disabled doesn’t mean they don’t have a right to enjoy life as much as possible.”
We are sending Alex Simpson a wonderful 20th birthday. Share Alex and her family’s inspiring story with others.
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