The correspondent has shared his journey for years
There is sad news from the news community today. NBC News Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel has announced that that his six-year-old son, Henry, has died.
“Our beloved son Henry passed away. He had the softest blue eyes, an easy smile and a contagious giggle. We always surrounded him with love and he returned it, and so much more. Mary and Richard,” Engel tweeted.
Our beloved son Henry passed away. He had the softest blue eyes, an easy smile and a contagious giggle. We always surrounded him with love and he returned it, and so much more. Mary and Richard. https://t.co/M8LV8SHv6r pic.twitter.com/21Ja6TOtjH
— Richard Engel (@RichardEngel) August 18, 2022
Engel has been very open about his journey with Henry and his Rett syndrome diagnosis over the past several years. When Henry was a baby, Richard and his wife Mary noticed he was not meeting specific milestones. After numerous doctors visits, a genetic test revealed Henry has a MECP2 mutation which causes Rett Syndrome.
The disorder “typically affects girls after their first birthday, robbing them of learned skills and leaving them with cognitive deficits, loss of speech, and a variety of motor difficulties,” states the Texas Children’s Hospital page where Henry was a patient.
In the years since his diagnosis, the family has shared both the challenges and victories that Henry has experienced. In particular, Engel happily reported on Henry’s first “dada.”
“He didn’t just say it once, but two or three times. There was an urgency and excitement to it. Dada. Dada. Dada! Angels sang from on high. A crowd offstage erupted in thunderous applause. And somewhere, an actor humbly folded at the waist.”
Just this past May, Engel shared that Henry’s condition had worsened in a tweet, along with a video.
For everyone following Henry’s story, unfortunately he’s taken a turn for the worse. His condition progressed and he’s developed dystonia: uncontrolled shaking/ stiffness. He was in the hospital for 6 weeks, but is now home and getting love from brother Theo. pic.twitter.com/7atwNPhJ6q
— Richard Engel (@RichardEngel) May 31, 2022
Henry passed away on Aug. 9, 2022 and his family took time to grieve privately before sharing the news on Aug. 18. In the words of Andrew Garfield, Henry has left “the world in a slightly more beautiful state than when [he] found it.”
If you’d like to support research to end Rett Syndrome, you can donate to Texas Children’s Hospital here.
