“My pregnancy was uneventful with the exception of a small scare…[after a second ultrasound, they said] My little one was perfect. I felt so much relief wash over me when I realized that we wouldn’t be called to be the parents of a special needs child. I thought that is what happens to other people, not to us.
A few days [after he was born] at our first pediatrician appointment, she smiled and kindly told us in a soft voice that our son had Down Syndrome.
The next few days were a whirlwind of crying, not sleeping, more crying, and praying. I didn’t want to talk to anyone…because I didn’t want to cry any more. I didn’t want to tell anyone what was going on because I wasn’t yet at the place where I could talk about my new baby without crying. I detested the thought of anyone feeling sorry for us or misunderstanding my tears.
As the days went by and I got more sleep, the hormones calmed down a bit and I began reading story after story of families who found themselves in the same place we were.They were all doing well. They had beautiful children and their children were pictured doing normal everyday things. There was an echo of words that, though ordered differently in each story, said..
I wish I could go back to those first few days and tell myself that this is not something to mourn but instead it is something beautiful.
This gift is the one that I never knew I wanted, until I got it.
You haven’t lived until you have had someone with Down Syndrome touch your life.
This is when I chose to begin learning everything I could about my son, his diagnosis, and others like him.
On the other side there is hope, beauty, and the most plentiful baby smiles I have ever seen. There is camaraderie among mothers you didn’t even know you would seek out. There is a sense of understanding of others and a new passion to make the world an even better place so your child can live abundantly in it.
And the tears do subside, because there is no reason to mourn when you have something so beautiful for the world to meet.”