', Mary Forrest, wife of NBC News chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel, penned an essay for Today about the final days she spent with their six-year-old son Henry after his death, The couple's oldest child passed away last August after a years-long battle with Rett Syndrome, a genetic mutation that leads to severe cognitive deficits and physical impairment. There, I added the caveat. He did astronaut therapy in a soft-play room, spinning on a large Lazy Susan to let him feel a mild centrifugal force. Editor's note: To learn more about MECP2 mutation, and the research around this genetic condition, go to Duncannri.org. Richard Engels wife is opening up about the surreal week she spent with her late son after he died at just 6 years old. While many media outlets pulled their journalists out of Iraq shortly after shelling began in March 2003, Engel stayed, and was subsequently one of the only Western journalists in the country. Find the best deals on Women's Jewelry from your favorite brands. All kids are missing out. RICHARD ENGEL MSNBC: So the Taliban are now, I think, you can say on board and coordinating closely with the Americans. The photo brought me back to sitting with our son Henrys body after he died. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. It was from the moment he woke up, like at 7:30 in the morning, clear to what felt like noon time. Henry interacts with the world through sight, sound and touch. The condition is rare, even more so in boys, and there is no cure. [38][39][40] He often traveled to the Korengal Valley, otherwise known as the "valley of death", one of the most dangerous outposts in Afghanistan. "To parents with typically developing children, a little Dada may not seem like a big deal. Forrest said she would 'cry, stroke his hair and face and rest [her] head next to his.' 'I would wake up feeling anxious to see him. 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'Researchers are making amazing progress using Henrys cells to help cure RETT Syndrome so others dont have to endure this terrible disease,' Engel added in a follow-up tweet, including a link to the donation page. So, the world kind of feels like an extra loud, bright, overwhelming place. His hand-mouthing is much more frequent. [38][39][40] Engel produced "Tip of the Spear", a series of NBC reports on the hardships and dangers faced by American soldiers, for which he won a 2008 George Foster Peabody Award. WebWatch On Assignment with Richard Engel Season 7. Its life long, not treatable, Engel said at the time. One year after Russias invasion of Ukraine, Richard Engel is on the ground, speaking with ordinary civilians who bravely joined an underground resistance to help [citation needed], Engel worked as the Middle East correspondent for The World, a joint production of BBC World Service, Public Radio International (PRI) and WGBH from 200103. Stopping school was a traumatic shock, a cruel trick for a kid who isnt programmed to cope with change. In the 2018 interview, Engel recalled the devastating prognosis for Henry: Its not just delay. 'That period of my life is a blur, but those hours with Henrys body are vivid in my mind,' she wrote. I know not every grieving person has the ability to do this, and not everyone wants or needs to. Advertisement. He was three and a half years old when he said 'Dada' for the first time, a milestone that Engel wrote about in an essayfor Today. On his tribute page, Henry is described as someone who "made the best of every single day and worked tirelessly in his many physical and developmental therapies.". Patients may also experience dystonia, where muscles contract involuntarily and the limbs or trunk are held stiffly in an unusual position, he added. Would I go back and do every second over again with Henry, knowing that there would be this much pain at the end? In April 2008, Engel became Chief Foreign Correspondent of NBC News. 2022, NY Press Club Awards, Documentary National TV & Feature Reporting National TV. I think we all know by now that this has not been a collective experience and that families with money, health, real estate and live-in help are doing far better than those without. The standing frame cost about $1,000. I think they're an afterthought to be honest with you for many of our schools, not just here, but across the country, she said. Looking at the war in Ukraine one year in. Engel coated the start of the 2003 Iraq battle for ABC Information [] ', Forrest insisted that would relive every second she had with Henry again, despite 'knowing there would be this much pain at the end.'. He did music therapy and hydrotherapy. But any part of Henry in any form be it hair, teeth, runny nose tissues is precious right now,' she explained. Its something we never saw with Henry,' Engel told Peoplein 2019. He was almost like an appendage to me; we were physically intertwined due to his disability and him needing me to move him around, to be his legs,' she explained. Forrest shared how she visited Henry's body in the funeral home and would sit with him daily during the week leading up to his cremation, Forrest said she would 'cry, stroke his hair and face and rest [her] head next to his.' "He continues to be an inspiration for Dr. Zoghbi and her team as they work to find effective treatments for Rett syndrome, and they already are making significant progress with Henrys own cells," the post says. There is no cure for the mutation, which stops the brain from growing properly. The day of the cremation, we went multiple times to sit with him. [38][39][40], Engel reported on Firebase Restrepo and the soldiers of Viper Company stationed in the Korengal where he showed the fierce firefights taking place between U.S. soldiers and Taliban forces. We scattered some of the ashes at a tree in a park that Henry loved. NBC News chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel announced Thursday that his son Henry, 6, has died. 'Unfortunately, the more we learned about it, the worse the news got.'. They weren't sure if these symptoms were due to stress or just the progression of his condition. Is YOUR lifestyle good for your heart? In 2012, he was awarded the Alfred I. du-Pont-Columbia Award for his outstanding breaking news coverage of the uprisings. All kids are missing out because of this damn pandemic. The father of two announced the heartbreaking news of Henry's death in a joint statement with his wife on Twitter on August 18, nine days after he passed. I went at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. I dont know. NBC News correspondent Richard Engel shared a heartbreaking update on his son Henrys health amid the 6-year-olds battle with Rett syndrome. We sat with him in our home for hours. On April 18, 2008, the creator was appointed to the place after serving because the communitys Center East reporter and Beirut bureau head. The young boy passed away on August 5, 2022, after a long struggle with Rett Syndrome, a rare genetic neurological disorder, per PEOPLE. She brought his books and toys and played his favorite songs. In Henrys case, his mutation was so unique that he was actually the first person to have it, Zoghbi said. While describing the challenges Henry was facing, the journalist emphasized how lucky he felt to have Henry in his life. All of these big changes around COVID have been especially disruptive for kids with autism, she said. But within minutes, our impersonal Zoom chat opened a window into her life. But there is a fundamental difference for kids with special needs. The special needs community, a bit like foreign correspondents, is a tightly knit group. Children with Rett syndrome can lose motor skills, including purposeful movement of the hands, and may develop scoliosis or difficulties with their gait, which make them very unsteady, Patterson said. How many times had I carried him in his life? To postpone what may be an inevitability, we put him in a standing frame, an upright contraption we strap him to, so that his body weight pushes down onto his hips, knees and feet. But even with all the difficult moments, there have been joyful milestones, too such as when Henry said Dada for the first time at 3 and a half years old. Lindsay Lowe has been a regular contributor to TODAY.com since 2016, covering pop culture, style, home and other lifestyle topics. It was taken in southern Turkey after the horrific earthquakes left the area devastated. Deals and discounts in Cookbooks you dont want to miss. My wife Mary and I know all of this and we have shared his and our journey before, hoping that other families wont feel alone because it is a very lonely road. Its a haunting, gut-wrenching image. It means life long, permanent, untreatable physical and intellectual impairment, Engel said on TODAY in 2018. [53], Engel was married to a fellow Stanford student; the couple divorced in 2005. When school ended abruptly, his mother says, Zach began to self-harm. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Rett syndrome can cause loss of use of the hands, problems with walking, seizures, slowed brain and head growth and intellectual disability. Richard Engels wife is opening up about the surreal week she spent with her late son after he died at just 6 years old. I didnt expect to see them for that long, and it was comforting. He also reported for USA Today, Reuters, AFP and Jane's Defence Weekly. WebWatch On Assignment with Richard Engel Season 7. 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