Extreme Makeover family has pro-life message – Catholic Online

�Extreme Makeover� family has pro-life message – Catholic Online: “In case the millions of viewers who watched the show on April 9 missed it, this devout Catholic family presented a strong pro-life message as they told their story of heartbreak, loss and prayer – and the difference it has made in all of their lives. They believe that their new found blessings are nothing less than a gift from God for remaining true to their faith.
Todd, or Coach Craft as he is commonly known, is an assistant football head coach as well as the head baseball and girl�s basketball coach at D�Hanis High School in D�Hanis. He also teaches Speech and Health. Liz is a stay at home mom. The couple have five children: Samantha, 11; 7-year-old Sarah; Isabella, 3, who was born with alobar holoprosencephaly, a severe malformation in which the brain fails to divide into two lobes; and Todd Joseph, 18 months.
Another son, William, died three hours after his birth in December 2001 due to anencephaly, being born without a developed brain.
Following a sonogram for Isabella, Liz sent the pictures to San Giovanni Rotundo in Italy. “I’m one of Padre Pio’s spiritual daughters,” said Liz. “I didn’t just sit there and say, ‘Oh my gosh, what am I going to do?’ I got busy.” The sonogram photos were touched to a glove belonging to the saint and are now considered a third class relic.
Late in Liz’s pregnancy with Isabella, a buildup of spinal fluid in the infant�s skull prompted one doctor to propose that she undergo a cephalocentesis. The procedure involved inserting a large needle into Isabella�s skull and taking out much of the spinal fluid to facilitate a natural birth, collapsing the skull.
The infant mortality rate for the procedure is 95 percent. Liz refused and instead underwent a cesarean section. “The doctor’s didn’t want to put me at risk with major surgery for a dead baby or a baby they thought was going to be a vegetable.”

However, Liz believes this story, concerning her former doctor who is a friend, is one of conversion. “Every time she sees Isabella she cries. I think I changed her outlook on things,” said Liz of her former doctor.

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