Thoughts from Thursday: Guest Blogger!
As you all know a thousand times over, I love all things October. Today, we have a special guest blogger who has a special affinity for October, as well! Throughout this month, we will be having special and surprise blogs!
For those who don’t know me, I am Erica. I have been married to my husband, Bruce, for nine years. We have three fantastic children, Natalie (8 this Fri!!), Caleb (3), and Ephraim (19 months). And now you maybe thinking- great, so why are you guest blogging? Well the answer to that is simple and complex all in one. My youngest child has Mosaic Down Syndrome, and October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month. Now if you didn’t already know about Oct being DS Awareness month, don’t feel badly. Until I learned of my son’s diagnosis and started stalking blogs of other parents, I had no idea either. In fact, until I had my son, I didn’t know much about DS at all. Sure I saw a few kids at school when I was growing up but they were kept apart from the “normal” kids.
For those who don’t know me, I am Erica. I have been married to my husband, Bruce, for nine years. We have three fantastic children, Natalie (8 this Fri!!), Caleb (3), and Ephraim (19 months). And now you maybe thinking- great, so why are you guest blogging? Well the answer to that is simple and complex all in one. My youngest child has Mosaic Down Syndrome, and October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month. Now if you didn’t already know about Oct being DS Awareness month, don’t feel badly. Until I learned of my son’s diagnosis and started stalking blogs of other parents, I had no idea either. In fact, until I had my son, I didn’t know much about DS at all. Sure I saw a few kids at school when I was growing up but they were kept apart from the “normal” kids.
Down Syndrome is the most common occurring genetic disorder. Down Syndrome occurs when an individual has three, rather than two, copies of the 21st chromosome. This additional genetic material alters the course of development and causes the characteristics associated with Down syndrome.
There are four types of DS and as I mentioned before my son has Mosaic DS. So what does that mean? Well not all of his cells have the extra 21st chromosome. Out of the 20 that was tested only 5 had the extra chromosome.
We did not find out that Ephraim had MDS until he was 10 weeks old. When he was born, I thought I “saw” it in his eyes, but no one said anything. It wasn’t until he was 6-7 weeks old that a murmur was heard, and we were sent to a cardiologist. He is the one who suspected DS and ordered the test for us.
That weekend of the test, I was devastated. I didn’t want my son to have DS, and I didn’t want him to have a hard life. I thought the worst thoughts ever and cried until I couldn’t cry anymore. After that, I was over it. I am the type of gal who is a control freak and let’s make a list of what I need to do and get this thing done.
So what have I learned having a child with special needs-
~It’s most defiantly not the end of the world or a death sentence.
~God did not choose me because I was perfect for E, it’s the other way around. Ephraim is perfect for me. He challenges me in way no one else could. Molding me to become a better person, mother, and friend.
~Having DS makes you cuter. Okay, I am biased but I mean Ephraim is pretty stinking cute.
~Having Ephraim in my life is not a burden. It BREAKS my heart that some people are so afraid of DS that they choose to not give birth to their child or they give them up for adoption. Ephraim has brought so much to not just me and my family but those around us as well. Ephraim has some magic, he has figured out to get everyone he comes in contact with wrapped around his little finger.
Thank you for taking the time to read a stranger’s post. J If you want to learn more about DS you can visit www.ndss.org. Want more info on Mosaic Down Syndrome, check out www.imdsa.org.
You can find Erica, Ephraim, and the rest of her crew at http://unfinishedramble.wordpress.com/
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