“The doctor said, ‘He may go home on oxygen.’ Little did they know the stubbornness I had. The love of a mother determined to get her baby home.”
‘THEY don’t have the muscles to get the right latch.’ He is not a ‘they.’: Mom advocates for son with Down syndrome
‘We won’t call you unless there’s bad news.’ I’ll never forget hearing the phone ring.’: Mom shares daughter’s Down syndrome diagnosis, ‘My eyes see beauty so differently’
“I grieved the baby I thought I was going to have. I grieved the baby I thought I wanted. I felt not fit for this.”
‘We don’t know anything for sure, but…’ The doctor sat down with a grave expression.’: Mom gives birth to son with ultra-rare chondrodysplasia punctata
“I was swiftly and abruptly thrust into an entirely different world than any of my friends. I sat alone in the grief and stewed.”
‘They die early. They don’t even live long.’ Why couldn’t my peers treat PEOPLE like PEOPLE? I decided to help.’: Woman advocates for those with Down syndrome, ‘I want their voices to be heard’
“‘You have a lot of nerve and patience to spend all your time with them.’ I’m LUCKY to be surrounded by all of this love.”
‘4 months into our marriage, we were in total isolation. I realized I knew very little.’: Special needs stepmom shares journey during lockdown, ‘I will forever cherish our bond’
“What we thought would be a two-week stay turned into months. I cried lots of tears. I was new to parenting, new to special needs. This. Was. Hard.”
‘A tear of pride rolled down his cheek. ‘My son.’ Even if my husband was on the other side of the world, we were together.’: Military wife shares son’s journey with Down syndrome, ‘Focus on the good’
“My husband and I sat silently in the front seat of my car. ‘Your baby has Trisomy 21.’ For a moment, my heart stung. My husband deployed to the Middle East for 6 months. Our adventure continued.”
‘There’s a 92% chance.’ I had NO IDEA if we could handle it. But when we saw his almond-shaped eyes, our hearts were stolen.’: Mom births son with Down syndrome, ‘We are truly blessed’
“I had this perfect idea of what our lives would look like. I’ll never forget that phone call. ‘Your testing came back positive for Down Syndrome.’ I felt scared, but I also felt PEACE.”
‘Aren’t you going to tell me congratulations?’ She wanted me to cry, but she wasn’t going to break me.’: Mom becomes Down syndrome advocate, ‘This is HIS journey’
“The social worker slowly sauntered into my room. She spoke with a soft, low tone as if she was attending a funeral. ’How are you feeling about his diagnosis?’ I was furious.”
‘She’ll never be able to do it.’ Doctors didn’t expect much. The win wasn’t just for me. It was for an entire community.’: Woman with Down syndrome becomes ‘Woman of Worth’
“Parents often look at me and say, ‘You’re a role model.’ I know their children will grow up not to be like me, but to be exactly who they are, living their own beautiful purpose.”
‘Your chances of conceiving are zero.’ I could also lose my husband. We couldn’t catch a break.’: Couple births baby with Down syndrome while husband battles cancer, ‘She was the missing piece of our puzzle’
“I got a call I could have never expected. ‘The doctor thinks I may have cancer.’ Our dreams and future slipped out of our grasp. I looked at that little stick and thought, ‘Maybe things are looking up after all.’ But I just had this feeling deep down in my gut something wasn’t right.’”
