Erika and I found out in utero that our daughter Amara had an extra chromosome. The doctor told us that she would have a myriad of health problems and would be a burden to us as her caretakers. As we soon discovered, the bleak picture this doctor painted of Amara’s life turned out to be a complete fallacy.
She read my mind. Again. She is smart in a way that no one can test. But more importantly she is funny, determined, and passionate. And she has the uncanny ability of being able to read my mind. She pays attention to my face more than anyone I know.
Our names are Rich and Dani Gardner. We adopted our daughter Sarah when she was two weeks old. Sarah has Down syndrome. When we made the decision to adopt, we didn’t set out to adopt a child with special needs. We had been trying to have a child for many years, and suffered several miscarriages and failed IVF procedures. It was a very hard time.
This fall, Lily walked into school, on her first day of kindergarten, next to her two brothers, and all of the other children. She said good-bye to me, and off she went with her giant backpack on her back, chatting with her twin brother, not even looking back. Come on, moms need hugs, blown kisses, and SO many pictures, on their kids’ first day of school.
It’s October 31st. Tomorrow we turn the page to November. Another Down Syndrome Awareness Month is “in the books,” as my grandfather used to say. What an October we had as a community! In addition to an extraordinary celebration at the Baltimore Buddy Walk, as a group we completed the 31 for 21 Challenge.
Shortly after my son was born with Down syndrome in 2000, representatives of my local Down syndrome organization visited Downside Up, an early intervention center in Russia. When Andy was about a year old, I read their newsletter article about this trip where they reported that more than 90% of the children with Down syndrome were institutionalized in Russia and that the parents of children with Down syndrome often faced isolation and discrimination.
Mailing Address
Chesapeake Down Syndrome Parent Group, Inc.
P.O. Box 20127 | Baltimore, MD 21286-0127
CDSPG, Inc., is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. EIN: 52-1753132
