‘After saving our son from death, we were reported for abusing him’
When Stephen and Josienne Abela saw their son Teo born with Down syndrome, doctors told them that, like all other babies with his condition, he had a greater chance of being diagnosed with another severe condition. Little did they know that he would be diagnosed with the worst form of other diseases and conditions and that he was often close to death... and that is before they were wrongly accused of harming their son. Upon birth, doctors discovered that Teo had two holes in his heart and was in critical condition. His parents rushed him to surgery in the UK and eventually returned to Malta, only to find out that he was suffering from cataracts in both his eyes. He underwent surgery again in his eyeball lenses but completely and permanently lost sight in one of his eyes. A year later, Teo was diagnosed with leukaemia and spent a year fighting for his life in hospital. His parents say he miraculously survived it but his immune system was lowered drastically, making Teo extremely vulnerable and prone to other diseases. Consequently, during every winter that followed, he would catch colds that would force him back into hospital fighting for his life again. On top of that, Teo is...