World Down Syndrome Day

March 21 may mark the 4 days after St. Patrick's day, the ending of spring break, or the day after the first day of spring.

But to many families, it marks a very important day in their world..  "World Down Syndrome Day".

My first memory of someone with Down Syndrome was my friend Trey Davis' sister, Dana.  She cracked me up all sides of tomorrow, and wore more rings than Elizabeth Taylor.  She hugged everyone she met, and had a smile that would make anyone having a bad day, turn it on a dime.

Her mom was one of the first "advocates" I met in my young life.  She worked tirelessly to aid people with disabilities, and give them a voice and a place to go to school, work, have a life.

I didn't appreciate or understand the enormity of what she did at that time, and probably until today, as I muse over my life, I never told her or Trey how impressed I was by their love and compassion for people with disabilities.

I was scrolling through Facebook this morning, and Kip's very good friends, Erin and Drew Crain (the whole reason she decided to do the World race was because these crazies did it first) have just had their first son, Everett.  I have been stalking their page like crazy because I am a fan of tiny new humans, and I just love Erin to death.  He has a heart condition, so I've been making sure he is doing good, and this morning I read this post from Drew's page...

"Hey everyone! First, thank you all so much for your prayers and generosity; we have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support we’ve received. Here’s the latest update on Everett: Yesterday we received test results confirming that Everett has Trisomy 21, a type of Down Syndrome. His heart condition is very common in children with this diagnosis. We see God’s faithfulness as Everett makes improvements every day. He continues to amaze everyone and as he gets stronger our faith increases even more. He has changed our lives forever and we could not feel more blessed to be his parents! The most important thing we need right now is your continued prayers for the healing of Everett’s heart. Thank you for believing with us for this miracle. We will continue to keep you updated on his progress."

My very first reaction when I read this was, "Wow, God sure knows what He is doing to give that lucky boy those two for parents."   followed, with,  "Wow, those lucky parents"! 

There is so much misunderstanding of Down Syndrome and other disorders.  One thing to remember..... they're all just PEOPLE.   Some people have dimples, some have brown hair, some have moles on their toes, some have singing abilities, and some people have down syndrome.  Yep, I lump it in their with moles on the toes, because it's just people.

Linda Douglas Ehlinger and her husband Rick, have 1 daughter and 2 sons.  I've known Linda most of my life (her brother Kent was one of my bff's in High School).  Their youngest son, Doug, has Down Syndrome. I look forward every day to reading either Linda or Rick's posts on him.  He is a corker, and headstrong (that's a Douglas trait) and some of the antics he pulls just make me roll on the floor.

I remember when Lacey took dance from Jim Paul in Shawnee, there was a little girl that took dance with her, and she had DS.  She is a hugging, loving machine.  And the girl loves to dance.

I can't stress enough to you, if you start to feel sorry for these families, just stop.  Every family has stuff.  The one thing I know for certain, these families will never have to worry about their teenager taking drugs, or sneaking out at night.  They will have different focuses, they will most likely worry about heart issues, and flat feet, medical issues that most family with "normal" children don't have to worry about as much.

I love reading this blog Nella's blog.  This mommy got the gift of a lifetime in her second daughter, and she so eloquently describes life and ups and downs in this wonderful blog.

I've talked about Zi Ping on this blog before, but look at him, his adoptive parents moved heaven and earth to rescue a little Chinese boy with DS from his life in an orphanage in China, and now he lives here with his new family, and brings joy and love everywhere he goes.  (Yes, I stalk Katie and Josh (his parents) like a crazy person as well).   How do I have time to get anything done for stalking all these people, you ask?  I don't know.

What I do know is we all need to support and love each other, and never EVER EVER take one day for granted with your child that otherwise healthy.

My time working at Dale Rogers Training Center were my favorite days.  Working with the people in the workshop, all kinds of people...people with autism, some blind people, some people in wheelchairs, some short people, tall people.   What I loved most??  Walking over to their workspace and being greeted by them.  I felt like a rock star.  They have a way of making you feel like the most important person in the world.  I could never leave without fistbumping all 220 of them and getting a million hugs and I can't begin to tell you, how if I was ever having "a day", I'd go over and get "My fix" of happy.

There is no form of purer love on this earth than the love of these children/people.  I can't explain it to you....this is something you have to experience for yourself.

Celebrate with me, on this World Down Syndrome Day.  Honor them, love them, and pray for them.  It's a gift.