Holiday favorite. But first the nightline five. As an american, its hard to hear good evening, we begin with another look at a poignant story of love and sacrifice in the face of overwhelming odds. A young couple learns their child will be born with a debilitating medical condition, and they bring him into the world anyway. Its been a tough road and its still not easy, but now these parents have a medical marvel on their hands. Heres abcs david wright. For brandon and brit nigh bul, the first serious curveball of parenthood came the day after these are hislegs. His hands a a feet are in the air lili this. Reporter the scan where the couple first found out they were having a baby boy. The ultrasound tech was acting strange. She got really strange. When she got to his head and was word. Then the very next day, t phone rang. Bifida. How did you process it . I couldnt really believe it. Turns out the initial diagnosis was wrong. But the scan showed a severe brain abnormality. Th brain almost nonexistent. Miraculously, jackson survived, hes now just over a year old. The doctors didnt expect him to. In fact, it was the sort of pregnancy where doctors as gently as possible mentioned the word termination. Abortion has much charge. It wasnt until 23 weeks that that we had the option to terminate in the state of florida until 24 weeks. To put it bluntly, many families faced with that scan into the world. How many fingers do i see . Chance. Where do they come from . I cant say. But i bet theyve come a long, but in a way, this is the essence of that debate. It can be. Some people take it that way. Way. Termination. I would feel terrible doing Something Like that. But if they were to tell me, he was going to suffer, or he would in pain, or my life was in jeopardy, then my thought different. Were christian and we believe in what we believe in, but we still are going to do the best thing for our family, for brittany, and ultimately for jackson. And this is jackson today. For us, this is normal. We dont have another child. This is the first one. Even just bathing him is a task that requires both parents. Want to play with your toys . This one or that one . Where do you put his happiness . Hes happy almost all the time. Hes just like any other baby. Hes teething and gasy, s s hes cranky often. T tre you. Good job and hes the sweetest baby. I know were byiased and thats fine. But jackson is not like most other babies. Heres what his brain should look like. Instead, this is jacksons brain. Only a year later did neurologists come up with a proper diagnosis. Microhydro ensefaly. August. There . Very little. Will he ever be able to talk . I would be shocked if he could. Will he ever be able to walk . Theres no prognosis. Doctors are surprised hes made it this far. Do you have any sense as to how long he can survive with this . I dont ow. I dont have a crystal ball. It really depends on the medical complications. Such a good boy. Hes only made it this far with the help of his parents. Jackson gets nutrition through a feeding tube. Burping him involves removing the excess fluid from his stomach. He sometimes suffers from mild seizures. Even when hes really calm. Sometimes hell just go into a slight seizure. Is he suffering . I dont think so. He was irritable when i saw him, and theres nothing about this that causes pain, per se. Reporter pain and suffering are not necessarily the same things. In the end, the doctors themselves say that science alone cant answer that question. And what is his quality of again, i imagine but i dont have a full appreciation of parents. How hes able to see the lights on his toy is baffling because the ser eastbound rum is so small as to be nonexistent. Mommy cant do it for you. Ill remind you, you put your hand and you press it, like that. Reporter and yet his parents, who spend so much time with them are convinced their son is in there. Its so cute when he gets so proud of himself. He grins. Yeah, its a cute grin. It is cute. Responding t theirir love and attention. Every day we spend time with him. Every day we play with him. Every day we say i love you. A hundred million times. Maybe a little exaggeration. But probably over a hundred times a day. No exaggeration. Can you sit up like a big boy . Here. Smart. He hears those things every day from us. Maybe im biased, but i believe positive reinforcement, talking to him, loving him that was a big yawn, buddy. I think hes responding to that very well. Reporter not only that, they feel he loves you back. They hear him saying so in videos such as this. I love you. And even if others may not hear it, these parents feel it. But brittany and brandon also hear from the neigh sayers. When they post his photos and videos online, people write the most terrible things. And we cant fathom would think Something Like that about an innocent child, especially one with special needs and two, actually hit the send button. Hes a lucky boy, you guys seem like great parents. We try. We try hard. Jackson is lucky, because many parents would not have given him that chance. It hasnt been easy. A lot of his treatments, are not covered by insurance. Theyve had to resort to a go fund me campaign which is covering most of their bills for now. Every decision weve ever made for him has been about his happiness, his comfmft, no matter what that meant, ando matter what the cost. I feel like jackson is doing so well and can teach the medical world so much. And we realize that jacksons life has a purpose, whether you are faithbased, or scientific and want to see more about medicine, learn more about the human brain. And at the same time, we realize the reality of jackson. That were probably going to outlive him. Theres an excellent chance of that. Were just trying to give him the best life possible. Knowing that it might be a short one. We realize that. So every day is precious. Jackson, almost 16 months old now, is still showing improvements. Here he is taking his first picture with santa. Ordinary people struggling with an extraordinary burden, and im david wrighgh for nightline in tavares, florida. Up next, shes not afraid of the dark side on shoz like scandal and how to get away with murder. Do what i say and ask questions later but Shonda Rhimes said she spend years hiding her own crippling secret. And later, Whoopi Goldberg, with a special christmas message. And that was amazing. Along with support, Chantix Varenicline is proven to help people quit smoking. It absolutely reduced my urge to smoke. Some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking o oafter stopping chahaix. Some had seires while taking chantix. If you have any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away. Tell your doctor about any history of Mental Health problems, which could get worse or of seizures. Dont take chantix if youve had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. If you have these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away tell your doctor if you have heart or blood vessel problems, or develop new or worse symptoms. Get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. Decrease alcohol use while taking chantix. Use caution when driving or operating machinery. Most common side effect is nausea. I cant believe i did it. I quit smoking. Ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. Whatcha doin . Just prepping for my bosss party in a couple weeks. What are those . Crest whitestrips. They whiten way better than paste. Crest 3d White Whitestrips whitit 25 times better than a leading whitening g othpaste. Someones making quite an impression. This holiday season, select crest whitestrips are dave, im sorry to interrupt. I gotta take a sick day tomorrow. Dads dont take sick days, ds take nyquil severer the nittime, sniffling, sneezizi, coughing, aching, so shes the undisputed queen of primetime tv. Shonda rhimes, the strong leading lady behind the strong leading ladies on scandal and but behind the scenes, shes wrestled with serious and at times debilitatiti vulnerabilities. So when you walk onto the set like this, you must be giddy. Its exciting. This is pretty magical to me. Were getting an intimate tour of the oval office. A hollywood mockup anyway. You may not recognize our guide, but chances are, youve been insideer racy day dreams. This cant happen, not anymore. Theres been hanky panky in here too. Theres been a lot of desk. Stop. No. Its crazy what your imagination can build. Shondas imagination reaches roughly 30 Million People a week with greys anatomy, scandal, and how to get away with murder. Her world, shondaland. Over the last 12 years, shes created bold female characters that dominate in typicalal much like shonda herself. But one big difference, shonda was painfulfully uncomfortable in the spotlight. Im a writer, im supposed to be behind the scenes. And everybody else in front. Despite being invited to every glamourous party in hollywood, shed make excuses saying she was too busy. Until her sister provoked her. I was going on and on about the invitations id received and my sister cut in and said, are you going to say yes to anything . You never say yes to anything . And tho words stuck with me. She was right. So this became a campaign t t say yes to things that scared you. To say yes to things that freaked me out. For a full year shed take on all the things shed worked so hard to avoid. It began with an invitation to appear on jimmy kimmel, who shed turned down so many times i tip my white hat to you. What you started saying yes, what happened . Its the doing of the thing that undoes the fear. But it was more than public yes to. Lets talk about the f word. I did. I got on the airplane to go to new york, and i couldnt get the seat belt buckled. You can call the stewardess and ask for an extender, and i decided i was going to die because i wasnt going to say it out loud, my seat belt wont buckle. Lifechanging. I hit this point where i said, i work hard in every other areaaabc of my life, why wouldnt i throw myself into being healthy in the same way . At one point, losing 137 pounds. Shonda said she was finally feeling comfortable in her own skin. But with every yes, she struggled more to find time to shes also frank aut motherhood and the dirty little secret working mototrs are often too afraid to talk about. That you really cant have it all. I was literally at my daughters first debut in her school musical, and i missed sandra o. Last filming eve at greys anatomy. It was not a question for me where i was going to be. But that was a really important moment at work and it was a big deal that i missed it. A big deal in part because Christina Yang was shondas alter ego come to life. Get out of my er our feelings and our sense of relationships are very similar. Dont let what you want eclipse what you need. Hes veryy dreamy, but hes not the sun. You are. So when christina left gray lover to pursue her keercareer, it was a major statement. One of the other things you talk about in the book, she doesnt want to get married. No, she doesnt. And you wrote that into her story line using your own life as a Reference Point . I did. I discovered i dont want to get married. At least for now. Do you feel like its important for women to throw out that fairy tale ending in a way . I dont know that women have to throw out the fairy tale ending. I just think they have to decide what their fairy tale ending is and not go with the standard one that everyones told them theyre supposed to have. Up next, Whoopi Goldberg embracing the holiday spirit with a special christmas message. Abc news nightline, brought to you by pfizer. What about my family . My lil buddy . And what if this happened again . I was given warfarin in the hospital but i wondered if this was the right treatment for me. Then my doctor told me about eliquis. And reduces the risk of them happening again. Not only does eliquis treat dvt and pe blood clots, but eliquis also had significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. Knowing eliquis had both. Turned around my thinking. Dont stop eliquis unless your doctor tells you to. Eliquis can cause serious and inare cases fatal bleeding. Dont take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. If youad a spinal injection while on eliquis call your doctor right away if you have tingling, numbness, or muscle weakness. While taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily. And it may take longer than usual for bleeding to stop. Seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. Eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. Tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. Eliquis treats dvt pe blood clots. Plus had less major bleeding. Both made switching to eliquis right for me. Ask your doctor if its right for you. Plumping surface cells for a dramatic traformation without the need for fillers with olay, you age less so you can be ageless so when you think of the holidays, you think santa claus or frosty the snowman, but at its core, its aboutestivities with family and friends. So tonight o friend Whoopi Goldberg is ringing in the holidays for nightline from her living room. Reading us a classic christmas tale. Ho ho ho. Hello. Im going to give you my recitation of the night before christmas, because i really like it, and its my favorite thing to do just before i go to bed. So lay back, or sit back, or just sit, if youre a puppy, or cat. twas the night before christmas when all through the house, not the stockings were hung by the chimney with care in hopes that there. Now the children were also nestled snug in their beds, while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads. And mama in her ker chief and i in my hat had settled our brains down for a long winters nap. When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, i leapt up from matter. Away to the window i flew like a flash, tore up the shutters, threw up the sash. And the moon on the new fallen snow, gave a luster of midday to objects below. When what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a miniature sleighnd eight tiny reindeer. With an old driver so lively and quick, i knew in a minute, it he whistled and sought shouted and called them by name, now dash e dancer, prancer vixen, cupid, donner and blitzen. Now dash away, dash away, dash away all, which i assume meant, hey, go to the top of the porch and then go to the top of the wall and then get out of here. Thats what i think that meant. As dry leas before the wild hurricane fly, when they met with an obstacle mountain in the sky. So up to the house, to the top quarters they flew, with a sleigh full of toys and Saint Nicholas too. And then in a twinkling, i heard up on the roof, the prancing and pawing of each little tiny hoof. As i drew in my head and was turning ararnd, down the chimney st. Nicholas came with a bound. D. He came dn the chimney, which i personally think would have saint nick and so, magic happens, but dont try that at home. I think trying that at home is a bad day. Anyway, he was dressed all in fur fake fur. Just saying. From his head to his foot and his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot. The bundle of toys he flung up on his back, he looked like an old peddler just opening his pack. His eyes, ooh, thewere twinkling, his diles, how merry, his cheeks like roses, his nose like a cherry. And his beard of his chin was as white as snow. And the stump of his pipe, well, he didnt actually have a pipe. The stump of his starbucks, he held in his teeth, and the coffee encircled has head like a wreath. He had a broad face and a round little belly and it shook when he was plus sized, plump, right old elf, and i laughed when i s s him in spite of myself. Now i wasnt laughing at him. I was laughing with him. He was going, ho ho ho, so we were laughing together. So a wink of his eye and a twist of his head soon gave me to know i had nothing to dread. Well, i do have some things to dread, but i wasnt dreading seeing him. Thats what that means. And he didnt say a word, he went straight to his work, filled all of the stockings and turned with a jerk. He laid his finger aside his nose and giving a nod, whoop, whoop, up the chimney he rose. He sprang to his sleigh. To his team he gave a whistle and away they all flew, like a down on a thistle. But i heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight, merry good night. The night before christmas,by clement moore. And goodnight to you, whoopi. And for all of you out there, thanks for watching abc news. Tune into Good Morning America tomorrow first thing. And as always, were online at our Facebook Page for nightline and a a abc. Com. Have a wononrful holiday and hell see you tomorrow. Tmas time plays ] Merry Christmas im jacque reid in the midst of shoppers shopping at a local mall in new york city. Hello, jacque. And im a. R. Bernard, celebrating christmas right here at Christian Cultural Center in brooklyn, new york