A mother on great losses of her daughter's disability When Sam Carlisle’s daughter Elvi was two, she was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition that would go on to cost Sam her freedom, her marriage and her high- flying career. As Elvi turns 1. 6, Sam shares what she learned in the process. My daughter should have taken her GCSEs this year. But instead of pressuring her to revise and get off Instagram, I let her stay up all night, watching terrible TV and eating junk food, exhausted but cherishing each moment we have together. Normal rules don’t apply to Elvi. They haven’t since our gorgeous girl was diagnosed at 3.

Sam with her daughter Elvi, who has just turned 1. At the time of Elvi’s birth I was a high- flying journalist, promoted through the ranks at The Sun. I had just been made features editor, an incredibly demanding job but one I loved and was keen to go back to when Elvi was six months old. My Australian husband Damian ran his own consultancy business from home and we had a fabulous nanny. I was determined to balance my career with being a great mum. There was just one issue. A midwife noticed that Elvi was ‘failing to thrive’ because she wasn’t gaining weight or reaching early milestones.

As we watched other babies her age sit up, crawl, then walk, Elvi just lay on her playmat, happy but seemingly frozen in time. It took two years for the doctors to figure out what was wrong. I was alone at work early one morning when an email came through from Elvi’s consultant at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

He stated matter- of- factly that her biopsy results revealed it was likely she had the genetic condition rhizomelic chondrodysplasia punctata (RCDP). There was no explanation of what it was.

I immediately ‘Asked Jeeves’ (Google was in its early days then), which threw up medical papers with grim x- rays of misshapen children’s skeletons. Amid the medical jargon, the words ‘dwarfism’ and ‘infant death’ leapt out at me.

In an instant my life changed. I started sobbing and couldn’t stop, even when Damian reassured me over the phone that we would get through it.

Sam with Elvi at home. I struggled through that morning’s meetings.

· The Asahi Shimbun is widely regarded for its journalism as the most respected daily newspaper in Japan. The English version offers selected articles from. Denver police are investigating an incident involving cheerleaders at East High School being forced to participate in painful and possibly abusive practice routines.

Married boxer Julio César Chávez Jr is 'robbed of his $40K watch by scantily clad women who posted footage of the theft online' after losing his Vegas fight. Even the most seasoned live performers aren't immune to the occasional hilarious goof-up, which thanks to the internet, may now live on forever. 'Just two faulty genes derailed my life': A mother on the great losses and lessons of her daughter’s disability. By Sam Carlisle. Published: 20:02 EDT, 16 September.

The Porsche team did a great thing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans this weekend, so let’s go ahead and drool over some various Porsches in celebration. And, of course.

Afterwards the deputy editor called me into his office and asked if I was OK. I explained what had happened, but he had no idea how to react to the red- eyed, broken woman in front of him.

Would you like to go home?’ was all he managed to say. Knowing I had to work harder than the men in my male- dominated industry, which meant I had never taken a day off sick, I foolishly shook my head and for the first time uttered a lie I would repeat over and over for the next 1. I’m fine.’ I stayed at work. And so began the most extraordinary, difficult path a parent can take.

Elvi’s diagnosis meant that – if she lived any length of time – she would have severe learning difficulties, dwarfism and cataracts that would badly reduce her sight. There was a likelihood of scoliosis, a misshapen spine.

Her organs might outgrow her skeleton and there was a very real threat of early death. As with many parents of disabled children, Damian and I reacted completely differently. I mourned the child I had imagined; the daughter I was saving clothes and treasured books for had disappeared; the girl I would tell about the joy of being female and how hard you have to work to achieve your dreams was never going to exist. I concentrated harder on my job while trying not to think about Elvi’s future. My husband, on the other hand, thought he could fix her; we would find a cure. But there is no cure for RCDP. We were thrown into the world of shambolic local authority care: well- meaning, poorly paid professionals who were better equipped to cope with children with more common conditions such as Down’s syndrome and autism.

Elvi baffled them because of the rarity of her condition and her lack of prognosis. There was talk of a ‘statement’, a legal document that would lay out Elvi’s educational needs. We filled in long forms, having to write down all the things she couldn’t do, with tears in our eyes and no one to guide us. Equipment arrived: a tiny walking frame, a pair of glasses, splints for her legs, the oversized nappies Elvi would always have to wear.

She started to grow out of all these things but, due to bureaucracy, replacements took ages. It took two years to replace her walking frame; two years without vital weight- bearing exercise to build up her bones. It was bewildering and isolating. We looked around the excellent local primary school we had always imagined Elvi would attend.

The special needs coordinator surreptitiously told us our daughter would be welcome but the school really wouldn’t be able to meet her needs. She required a special school. So we found a welcoming one in Kingston Upon Thames. The tiny wheelchairs parked in the corridors made us feel at home. Here we found other parents who were going through the same difficult stages as us. Parents who would become our closest friends and amateur therapists, who would provide more information than the authorities about what help there was to be found.

There was no school- gate chat because disabled children are bussed in, but we would call each other in our lowest moments and share dark jokes about our insane lives and the lack of support from a local authority – jokes no one else would understand. These were the only people we trusted enough to say: ‘No, I’m not fine. I’m exhausted and angry.’My parents were supportive and Damian was – and still is – an excellent dad.

But friends we’d had for years didn’t know how to handle Elvi’s condition or our reaction to it. Watch Turistas Online Metacritic. We gave a good impression we were coping and they backed off. Actually, we weren’t coping. We were struggling to keep all Elvi’s appointments with five different consultants at three different hospitals and hold down our jobs.

Elvi with her half- brother Sonny. While I was on maternity leave, my department’s working week was reduced to four days because the daily hours were so long and included some weekends. That suited me, particularly when Elvi was finally diagnosed; I worked hard, often well into the night, and fixed most of her appointments for my ‘day off’. But when a new editor came in, we were switched back to a five- day week and the home/work balance became trickier. Even so, I once told a male colleague I loved my job partly because it felt like respite from the stress of being Elvi’s mum, but he warned me never to say that out loud again as it would annoy every man in the office. Meanwhile, friends we’d made in antenatal classes were starting to have second children and Damian was keen to add to our family. We knew there was a one in four chance that any baby we had would have RCDP as we had discovered that we both carried a faulty Pex.

Doctors told us there had been a one in 4. RCDP. Given that we know of fewer than 6.

I have always felt the odds must be even greater. If I conceived again, we could test for RCDP at 2. I knew I would not choose to abort a baby if it had the condition. I questioned whether we could cope with another child with RCDP when we still didn’t know how it would fully manifest itself in Elvi.

Sadly, the decision about whether or not to try for another baby put even more pressure on our already strained relationship and Damian and I split up. At work there was a shake- up of senior executives and I found myself shunted sideways into a department I knew little about, which at the time made me furious. That woman who had previously made it her business never to rock the boat at work was gone: I felt I had nothing to lose because I had already faced the worst that could ever happen. Just two faulty genes had derailed my life, my job and my marriage. But, in fact, the sideways move taught me new skills and my new department head protected me while I licked my wounds.

The pressure was much less and I had more time to concentrate on my daughter and come to terms with life as a single mum of a severely disabled child. I also had time to meet someone else.

Mexican boxer is 'robbed of his $4. K watch by women'The wife of Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez Jr claims her husband was robbed of his $4. Las Vegas after losing his fight against Canelo Alvarez. Footage of a 'drunk' Chávez lying on a bed with three women surrounding him emerged on Thursday afternoon, just days after he was pummeled by Alvarez in their catchweight bout at the T- Mobile Arena on May 6. And even though he was caught in a very compromising position in the video filmed in the boxer's MGM Grand suite, Chavez's wife, Frida, has stood by him despite the women being brought back to his room. Scroll down for video The wife of Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez Jr (left) claims her husband was robbed of his $4. Las Vegas. Video of Chavez partying with the women emerged just days after his fight against Canelo Alvarez.

The video was recorded on May 8 in the boxer's MGM Grand suite. According to his wife, Frida, the couple met a British man and some women at the hotel bar. A second woman was also seen in the video showing off her bum Frida, told ESPN that the couple met a British man and some women at the hotel bar on May 8 before she went back upstairs to care for the couple's daughter, Julia. She claims those same people robbed Chávez of his phone, a $4. Hublot watch, and his $3 million check from the Alvarez fight after a night of partying. She also hinted at the possibility that he may have been drugged that night and the women may have slipped something in his drink in an attempt to take advantage of him. Frida said she believes the alleged robbery occurred around the hours of 5am and 6am 'I had the check on the table, and when I checked the next day, there was no check,' she told news site Remezcla. The watch was also gone.'In the video, Chavez, who remained with the women even after his wife left to go upstairs, is seen lying on his hotel suite bed as a woman sits on top of him and touches his chest. Another man, who is recording, pulls the woman's pants down to show her buttocks. Seconds later, a second woman pulls down her jeans to show off her bum as well.

Frida said that nothing justifies what went on in the video; however, she blames it on her husband having too much to drink. She told ESPN that once her husband went through several drinks, he was the object of a trap, in which he was robbed of his belongings, including his cell phone. Frida said she wasn't at the hotel room party because she had to look after their daughter.

The only reason the family stayed in Vegas after her husband's fight was because Frida wanted to go to the 'Celine Dion concert on Tuesday'. When Frida returned to the room the next morning, she noticed the items were missing.  Frida (left) claims those same people robbed Chávez of his phone, a $4. Hublot watch, and his $3 million check from the Alvarez fight after a night of partying. Frida said nothing justifies what went on in the video; however, she blames it on her husband having too much to drink. She said once her husband (pictured) went through several drinks, he was the object of a trap, in which he was robbed of his belongings. A source close to Chavez's team told ESPN that the $3 million check was later found at the MGM Grand. The check was reportedly still in the suite where they stayed.

Investigations are still underway for his Hublot watch. Frida said she and Chavez are considering legal action and they have also questioned staff at the MGM Grand about the watch. The 3. Chavez, son of iconic Mexican boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Sr, was trying to revitalize a career derailed by positive drug tests, weight issues and lax training. But he proved no match against Alvarez in last week's match- up. Chavez avoided a $1 million- per- pound penalty when he weighed in at 1. Friday, a half- pound below the bout catchweight and the lightest he's been since losing his middleweight title to Sergio Martinez in 2. Watch X_Y Streaming. His left eye was left badly swollen in the post- fight press conference and he acknowledged he felt weaker having lost so much weight.'If I would've attacked more I would've been countered by his punches. I couldn't throw as many punches as I wanted. My father kept telling me to throw more punches from the ringside.'Alvarez will be stepping in the ring with Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin in September for the middleweight championship, in one of the biggest fights in boxing.

The 3. 1- year- old Chavez (left), son of iconic Mexican boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Sr, was trying to revitalize a career derailed by positive drug tests, weight issues and lax training during his catchweight bout against Canelo Alvarez (right) on May 6.