“Immediately after birth, he began growing rapidly. He grew almost 3 inches and 8 pounds in 7 weeks. We were told Joshua’s condition is ‘without a doubt rare and genetic.’ Everywhere we went, people stared. Josh just wants to be everyone’s friend.”
‘At 10 months old, he weighed over 35 pounds. I began keeping food logs. ‘Does this justify the weight gain?’: Mom births baby with obesity disorder, autism
‘Mama, you’ve been chosen!’ I met my baby for the first time in someone else’s house. My heart raced.’: Young couple adopt baby with Down syndome, ‘He is the light of our lives!’
“I was 19 when I decided I was going to adopt a baby. My husband shrugged, smiled, and said, ‘Sounds good to me!’ We had 4 days to do…everything. We laid in bed, trying to fathom the idea this would be our last night alone. When the day came, the grief rocked me to the core. While we were gaining a son, his first family was losing a son.”
‘What’s wrong with her fingers?,’ my husband asked. ‘They look strange, but they’re perfect.’ Then he saw her toes.’: Parents surprised by daughter’s Apert Syndrome diagnosis, ‘she just wants to be loved’
“The doctor yelled to get the NICU team as soon as possible. They came in so fast we could hardly get a picture. I don’t remember anything afterwards except that my husband googled her syndrome based on her appearance, and I was left alone in the delivery room. No husband. No baby. I asked for a Diet Coke. They only had Diet Pepsi.”
‘The subject line read, ‘Down Syndrome Baby.’ My heart skipped a beat. That very morning a precious baby boy was born.’: Cancer survivor adopts ‘special gift’ son with Down syndrome after infertility from endometriosis
“When they had learned he was diagnosed with Down syndrome, they did not feel comfortable. I responded with, ‘Yes, yes, and yes!’ My lunch sat uneaten on the counter. I told my son, ‘You are going to be a big brother!’ With the biggest smile on his face, he shouted, ‘Yahoo this is the best day EVER!’”
‘He is broken and breaking,’ the doctors said. ‘No hope. Always fatal. It would be kinder to terminate,’ they tell his mom and dad.’: Newborn with Brittle Bone Disease diagnosis defies the odds to become family’s ‘fighter’
“To us, there was never a question. In room 117, he came into this world. Crying, alive, and doing it on his own! The doctors were wrong. Was he perfect? No, he was perfectly imperfect, and he was HERE. Alive, and a fighter.”
‘My daughter came home from preschool different. She was biting herself. She stopped speaking, sleeping, playing with toys. I could no longer write it off.’ Mom receives Rett Syndrome diagnosis, told it’s ‘one of the most severe cases’
“I get a call from the geneticist. The call drops 3 separate times. The most important call of our life and I miss it. I sit and wait. My phone rings again. He says, ‘Genetics just confirmed Evie has Rett Syndrome.’ He says, ‘There’s no cure. We can’t change it. You can’t do anything.’ My heart sank. This was serious.”
‘What? No hands?’ The Universe chose me to be Ivy’s mom.’: Mother learns of daughter’s limb difference, refuses terminating pregnancy because ‘she was ours to love, protect’
“Missing both forearms and hands. This felt like a punch to the gut. It stole my breath. My husband firmly, passionately said to me, ‘I’ll do whatever I have to do to take care of her. I’ll build her anything. I want her. I’ll do whatever it takes. I’ll take care of her for the rest of her life.’ He was right. She saw me and said, ‘Yes. I want her. I want HER to be my mommy.’”
‘What about me?’ He sees all the babies getting adopted. He deserves a family too. Our answer was a shaky, scared ‘yes.’: Foster mom on the ‘trauma’ yet ‘joy’ when you ‘Say yes to an older child’
“Within 24 hours I went from mothering toddlers, to a 7-year-old. I wasn’t sure what to do. We were walking on eggshells, wondering when the lid would blow. I was closing his bedroom door. He stopped me. ‘Mommy, you’re a really good Mom.’ I slid down the door in silent sobs. Those words, coming from that boy, meant more than any accolade I could ever receive.”
‘No eyebrows and eyelashes,’ she said. I hadn’t noticed his lack of hair. She ran her hand across his sweet face. There was a concern.’: Mom learns of son’s rare CFC syndrome disorder, but keeps ‘pushing forward’
“Our midwife came in and hugged me. ‘How are y’all doing?,’ she asked. It was all too much. What did she mean by ‘abnormalities?’ I stopped her and asked. That’s when the rest of the conversation disappeared from my memory. I would NEVER let this define Nolan.”
‘I was told it was the ‘Cadillac of disabilities.’ His pediatrician even said, ‘Out of all the heartbreaking disabilities, his is also heartwarming.’ Down syndrome isn’t easy. We ARE special.’
“I’m here to call us out on all of our mild-mannered modesty. I’ve realized we ARE special, and we deserve that title. No, not everyone can do it. You are different. Your child is different. I am tired of wearing the martyr mask with an ‘aw shucks’ and a ‘not little ol me.’”
