My first post comes from something I wrote two years ago. On the first day of October in 2014, I finally told the world through a Facebook post that Jackson has Down syndrome. Family and most close friends already knew, but I just hadn't been ready to publicly announce it until then. I should have known how amazingly supportive my friends in facebook-land would be, but it was a step I had to make when I was ready.
Now I love sharing our journey! Some may say I share a little too much! :) However, I believe that doing so will help people see how normal our lives truly are, extra chromosome or not.
October 1, 2014
"Six and a half months ago, our son Jackson surprised us by entering this world a month early. Soon after his birth, we learned Jackson had another surprise for us: he was born with a little something extra- a third 21st chromosome, commonly known as Down syndrome or Trisomy 21.
I wish I could say we handled that surprise well, but I have since learned that our reaction, our grief, was completely normal. Now I look back at my fears and the dark places I visited and wish I could tell myself that the sunshine Jackson will bring into this world will crush those fears and banish those dark places, but I had to travel my road of healing in my own time. I'm going to borrow parts of a quote from another mom's blog that speaks perfectly to this time: Our son was Jackson long before we met him. While we struggled and grieved and mourned and plugged along, he was still Jackson. He was just waiting for us to meet him.
And I am so glad that we did meet him! Our son amazes me every day. Jeremy and I will not let a diagnosis define him or set limitations on his life. While his diagnosis initially rocked our world, our son is rockin' his extra chromosome, and we can't wait to see what the future holds for him."
Down Syndrome Awareness Month- Day 1
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