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Ottawa couple robbed while watching over sick baby

Charlotte Eldridge was born with her organs protruding from her body

A young Ottawa couple who have been watching over their terminally ill infant in the hospital since she her birth on August 18 are now the victims of a crippling home invasion. Everything that Melanie and Chris Eldridge value—from their computer to a bass guitar—was stolen from their duplex while they stood by their baby daughter, Charlotte, in the hospital. Charlotte was born with a condition called omphalocele, in which the liver and other organs protrude from her body. The survival rate for the illness is high, but doctors say complications in Charlotte’s case have made her progress dubious. Melanie says the couple is now trying to cope with two stresses—that of their baby and their home. “I wish that we hadn’t had a reminder,” she told the Ottawa Citizen, addressing the family’s unknown burglar, “that not everybody in the world is an amazing, kind person.”

The Ottawa Citizen

 

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