The father of baby Jaxon Buell, who was born with parts of his skull missing, has spoken out about the criticism he and his wife have received for "selfishly" bringing their son into the world.
Jaxon was born with a rare condition called Microhydranencephaly, meaning parts of his brain and skull are missing. Initially doctors thought he'd only survive a few days, but Jaxon defied the odds and celebrated his first birthday on 27 August 2015.
Katie Hopkins is one of the people who have felt the need to publicly share their view that Jaxon should not have been born.
"Plain wrong. If your baby has half a head, you don't have it. Cruel and inhumane," Hopkins tweeted on 28 September.
If Hopkins had paused to do a little research into Jaxon's story before airing her views, she would have discovered that the boy's parents had already penned a response to accusations such as hers that their decision to have their son was "cruel and inhumane".
Two days earlier on Saturday 26 September, Brandon Buell shared what he called "overdue and honest words" about his son's progress and the attitudes his family have encountered.
"It’s baffling to hear or see other people’s opinions on our baby that have never met him, that somehow know how he thinks, how he acts, how he feels, how much of what he does is voluntary or involuntary, how he is always in pain, and that we are selfish parents for not choosing to have an abortion," Buell wrote.
Buell and his wife, Brittany, discovered there was an "unknown issue" with their son at their 17 week ultrasound scan and while doctors were initially unable to make a firm diagnosis they were given the option to abort at 23 weeks.
"No doctor could tell us exactly what was wrong or what to expect, but we did make sure to ask if Jaxon was in pain or was suffering, and we asked if there were any added risks for Brittany during the pregnancy or potentially at time of delivery," Buell writes.
"Since the answer to both questions was 'no', we never came close to considering abortion.
"Yes, we are Christians, and our faith has certainly been vital during this entire journey for our family, but we’re still realists."
He adds: "It was our choice, and only our choice."
"I'll never understand how choosing to carry Jaxon and give him a chance to survive could ever be considered 'selfish'," Buell continues.
"The actual word that should be used in our situation is 'sacrifice'.
"Most will never know the joy and the struggles that we experience behind closed doors with Jaxon. My wife is the strongest woman I have ever met and with the biggest heart for others."
Buell adds that his son wakes up smiling "seemingly as if he is so excited to start another day" and that he "talks up a storm these days".
"Jaxon is simply that, Jaxon. He is so normal in so many ways.
"He is a baby who is dealing with teething, he cries when he’s hungry, he hurts from gas pains, he throws ups, he cries, he poops, he sleeps, he repeats.
"For our family, it’s also normal to feed our baby by feeding tube. It’s normal to embrace him as he goes through his startle seizures multiple times a day.
"We will never understand how anyone could ever have a negative or hurtful comment to say about an innocent special needs child.
"But those poor souls are by far the minority, and they should see our inbox from the masses who love our son, our family, his story, and are inspired by him because he continues to fight and because we chose life in the first place."
Brittany and Jaxon
Buell says he and his wife want to share their son's story in a "positive and beneficial" way to help other families "going through difficult times".
"We understand that Jaxon is here for a reason," Buell wrote. "Yes, 'selfishly', we love him and never want to lose him.
"Yet, we believe he was created perfectly, by design, and that his story would not only inspire others, but it would help other families in the future who will walk the same path that we have, who will start out just as clueless, just as scared, yet now have an experience to turn to for hope and for guidance.
"We believe the medical world will also benefit from Jaxon’s story, from his rare neurological condition, and from his diagnosis, because we are certainly seeing firsthand how much there is still to learn about the human brain.
"No matter who you are or what you believe in, it’s clear that Jaxon’s tiny footprints will have a lasting impression on this world, and that he has already touched and inspired more lives in one year than most of us ever will in our lifetime."