I Love You Sooo Much

Excerpts of Stories by or About Persons with Down Syndrome

In 1986,1 was expecting my fourth child. I was sent to a different doctor for one of my monthly check ups while my regular doctor was out of town. "What children do you have at home?" he asked. "A 10-year-old girl and two boys who are eight and six, "I replied. "Well, congratulations," he said, "judging from the heartbeat, I'd say you are going to have a healthy baby girl!"

...Not exactly

The first surprise was that my baby was a boy.  Michael was much smaller and "bluer" than my other newborns had been. He was soon to require a complete blood transfusion due to very severe jaundice. He had a sweet little face, but there was something about his eyes that prompted me to ask a nurse, "Do we know for sure that he doesn't have Downs?"

The next day my worst fears were to follow. Our baby had Down syndrome. We felt numb. What would this mean?

The next few days were the low point of my life. It was also soon determined that Michael had a heart defect which would require corrective heart surgery. I could not wait to get home before any more problems were uncovered. Fortunately, I was able to breastfeed him as I had my others. We all went home and tried to carry on as normal as possible.

It was difficult to tell family and friends. We chose not to tell our children immediately. We wanted them to fall in love with their little brother without his being thought of differently from any other newborn baby.  Friends and family were all very supportive. We tried to find out all we could about Down syndrome.

We soon became involved with the Infant Development Program. The IDP worker who visited us each month had an older daughter with Down syndrome so she became a wonderful source of information and support. The exercises she suggested for Michael really helped his physical development.

My son's pediatrician gave me the name and phone number of a woman who had a four-year-old son with Down syndrome, who was doing very well. I contacted her, we got together for a visit, and before long a support group for families of children with Down syndrome was formed.

Michael's development has progressed well. He is just "one of the gang" as far as our family is concerned. His older sister and brothers have been a terrific help. We have all learned to be more patient and compassionate people. We all love Michael to pieces. He has been a blessing in many ways.

Michael is now 12-years-old, in grade six at a regular public school. We decided to hold him back a year before he started kindergarten to give him a better chance of keeping up with his classmates. Before that, he had many years at a very good day care centre, which also helped his development. Until the end of grade three, Michael had a full-time aide. In grade four, due to school funding cutbacks, his official aide time was reduced to three hours a day.

Michael has always loved books and can read very well. We taught him to read phonetically by teaching him the alphabet and the sounds that each letter makes. He learned to put the sounds together to form words. We were so excited when we realized that this boy was going to be able to read!

Like most boys his age, Mike is very adept at Nintendo and computer games. With help, he has typed out school projects on the computer. He has been involved with Little League, swimming lessons, and Sunday School. He loves all ball sports and is learning to ski. We have taken him on all the family holidays and have given him as enriched a life as possible.

Michael is a very sociable, outgoing and happy individual. He is well accepted by his classmates. He is very intuitive and sensitive to others' feelings. He can be very charming and likes to offer compliments. He is always reassuring us that, "I love you soooo much!" The feeling is absolutely mutual. I would not trade him for anyone.