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Santorum's daughter hospitalized
DESOTO, Fla. — Rick Santorum's 3-year old daughter has been hospitalized in Philadelphia, his campaign said Saturday.
"Rick and his wife Karen are admitting their daughter Bella to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia this evening," Santorum spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement.
Santorum's Saturday campaign schedule was canceled, and he was forced to miss an appearance on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday.
Late Sunday morning, in a media advisory the campaign said Santorum would participate in two tele-town hall meetings in the evening. The candidate's eldest daughter Elizabeth Santorum was also scheduled to attend a rally in Sarasota, FL joined by the Duggar family, stars of a reality show, Sunday afternoon.
Santorum had been taking a break from campaigning in Florida and had a Saturday fundraiser scheduled in Washington before news broke of his daughter's illness. He had been due to return to Florida to attend church Sunday morning in Miami before heading to a rally in Sarasota, Fla. and a dinner in Punta Gorda, Fla.
Isabella Santorum, one of the presidential candidate's seven children, has a genetic disorder known as Trisomy 18 that causes people to be born with an extra copy of the 18th chromosome. The disorder causes developmental abnormalities, and half of infants born with the condition do not survive for more than a week after birth, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Santorum and his wife, Karen, speak openly on the campaign trail about the challenges and rewards of raising a child with such a condition, but have avoided putting her in public situations on the campaign trail.
This story has been updated.
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