“Maryanne and Tommy live in this bubble of love and happiness. They walk hand in hand everywhere they go, totally unaware of anyone else.The love they share goes so deep they literally can’t bear to be apart. Tommy always calls Maryanne ‘my love’ and ‘my darling wife.’ He often sings to her his favorite song, ‘Love Me Tender’ by Elvis. When they got married 26 years ago, so many people doubted them, said it was disgusting they were allowed to get married. That it would never work. How wrong they were.”
‘They can’t read or write. They don’t understand danger or time. But they understand pure love. And they’ve felt it 29 years.’: Married couple now ‘longest living’ pair with Down Syndrome, sister says it’s ‘nothing short of a fairy tale’
‘Looking at the photos, all I could think was, ‘She’s gorgeous!’ I saw her, not her disability. I sent them to my husband. I still remember his immediate words.’
“She was legally free. Our parents advised against it. ‘Your kid won’t be able to give back to you or support you when you’re old.’ ‘It’s too risky.’ I couldn’t understand why that mattered more than giving a child a home.”
‘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.’”
‘We were literally one in a million. Identical twins with Down syndrome happens once out of every million pregnancies! We had been chosen for this task.’
“The ultrasound technician laughed. ‘What is it?,’ we said. She looked at us. ‘There are two in there!’ I immediately cracked up laughing. Rayni looked like she had seen a ghost! ‘Are you serious?’”
‘Either pregnancy is harder with age or we’re having twins.’ Our son with down syndrome had just battled multiple heart failures and a stroke. ‘Actually, there’s 3.’ Um, excuse me! What the heck?!?!’ Mom delivers baby with Down Syndrome & heart defects, gets surprised with triplets 1 year later
“We went silent until I could finally ask him how sure he was. ‘Beyond 100% certain. Triplets.’ I was in tears instantly. Our life felt like a TV show playing out in real-time. How can we handle triplets plus making sure we meet our son’s medical needs? How can I continue to work full time? Do we need a bigger car? House? How is this going to work?! Excitement quickly followed. We accepted the challenge.”
‘I vividly remember looking into her eyes, sensing her vulnerability, promising to guard her. It was my job to be brave, but I doubted my ability. We heard ‘I’m so sorry,’ which prompted more tears.’
“When I found myself unexpectedly widowed at 39, I couldn’t have imagined what my life would look like 5 years later. We met on a dating website. Blending our families was a complicated task, accommodating the needs of 9 children between the two of us.”
‘She will probably never walk, but hey, these types of kids are always happy.’ Happy? I grieved for the daughter I thought I was going to bring home.’
“How was I going to be able to take care of my daughter? I wasn’t ‘special,’ I had no idea what to do! The doctor never even touched her. I realized my daughter was put in a box. A box of old school thinking and treatment.”
‘They plopped her on my tummy, facing her daddy. I cried the happiest tears. But, my husband looked at me with the most concerned look on his face. He knew.’
“It’s 2 o’clock in the morning, my water breaks on the toilet. No contractions, no leaking. I assumed it was urine, so I went back to bed. I called the nurse line when I woke up. ‘It’s most likely just urine from the baby shifting on your bladder.’ But for the first time ever? On my due date?”
‘They become ‘the pet of the school,’ she said. It was as if a tornado hit the room.’: Mom feels ‘immensely proud’ of daughter with Down syndrome after first being ‘consumed by sadness’ over diagnosis
“The life I imagined crashed before me and fell to pieces. I heard the words, ‘She has characteristics of Down syndrome.’ But then, I saw my daughter with her big marble colored eyes and blonde hair. Finally, I embraced it.”
‘Not a single person was there to say goodbye. He was frightened by the sound of his own giggle. But for the first time, he was shown love. He was going to learn just how loved he really was.’
“We stared at the babies on the website for almost a year, saying we will adopt ‘one day.’ Then I saw the picture of a precious baby boy. He was only a few months old, abandoned to live his life in an orphanage because he had an extra chromosome.”
