The monitor tells doctors if the baby is in distress. Tracy's oxygen supply was cut off at birth.
Cerebral palsy is caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain at birth.
Brain cells die, interrupting motor commands to muscles and causing limbs to spasm. Dr. David Kemp, the Latimer family doctor, indicates that Tracy could have lived into her 40s. The Latimer's fourth child, son Lee, is born. Laura Latimer was concerned that lifting Tracy would put the new baby at risk. Tracy returned home in October, weighing only 38 pounds.