Betty Vertin is a mother, writer and a fierce defender of the decisions she and her husband Jason made about the seven children they brought into this world.
Betty writes columns for several Catholic publications. In one of her recent columns, she commented that her life is an open book, but she closed that book for a few months until her friends and relatives began to realize that Betty and her husband Jason are not only expecting another child, but the child may carry the gene for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Her intent for the column is to offer general news and DIYS tips for families impacted by DMD.
After including the new birth announcement in one of her columns, Jason and Betty received thousands of letters, mostly in support of their decision to continue their Catholic family planning. Yet Betty occasionally thinks about one letter she felt clearly crossed the line into dark territory. Betty vows, however, not to allow one mean spirited letter to tarnish the loving nature of their family.
When asked to describe what it is like to be living with three sons who have DMD, Betty will always emphasize the good times the family shares. Now that summer is almost here, the children can enjoy the newly installed above ground swimming pool, baseball games and various part-time summer jobs.
When the pendulum swings in the opposite direction though, it is “all hands-on board” literally and emotionally. That is exactly what happened one night a few weeks ago when 15-year-old Charlie fell. The family woke up to the screams by Charlie’s brothers. Betty had been through this twice before and both times the fall ended in a loss of ambulation for the two brothers. Betty realized that the only way for her to cope with the inevitable is to be thankful that Charley was able to walk for fifteen years.
Once everyone went back to bed Betty took inventory. She gave herself credit for being able to care for three children with DMD. Then the knowledge that Charlie may only have a few days left before being confined to a wheelchair made Betty unable to find comfort. She was admittedly angry and grieving.
Betty made it clear that “the third time is a charm” will not work in this case.
