The Moments I Knew It Would Be OK After the Birth of My Son With Down Syndrome
We found out at birth that our son Alex has Down syndrome. Though our neonatologist delivered the news beautifully, he arrived after an emergency c-section which left us raw. That night we had a lot to wrap our minds around, but after I stabilized, the staff rolled me down to see our son, and at that moment, I wondered if maybe it would be OK.
The next morning my husband showed up with a smile, an encouraging word, and a stack of books, and I thought maybe it would be OK.
I arrived home from the hospital to a finished nursery, but no baby; I wondered if it would be OK.
Our baby got discharged from the hospital; I thought maybe it would be OK.
I struggled mightily with pumping milk and feeding him; I wondered if it would be OK.
At 6 weeks old he latched on and nursed; I thought maybe it would be OK.
He never really crawled; I wondered if it would be OK.
He walked at 19 months; I thought maybe it would be OK.
He slowly learned words and signs; I thought maybe it would be OK.
He started preschool and regressed; I wondered if it would be OK.
It continued on and on, and somehow the wondering faded and the maybes grew into confident yeses.
Alex is 14 now, and I don’t really wonder any more if it will be OK. Somewhere along the road, I have learned that sometimes we veer off the path we need to stick to, but we always find our way back. My confidence is in our ability to navigate the rough waters, though we still don’t always avoid them. Even when things aren’t OK right now, they really are OK, and they will be OK.
Have you seen the first film with a national release to star a person with Down syndrome? Check out the film “Where Hope Grows” today!
I’m a woman, a gardener, a wife, an advocate, a mother, and a runner. I am writing a book to be titled, “Hope Deferred”, about the heart sickness of parenting a child with complex medical needs, and the tree of life that inexplicably sprouts from the ashes of our hope. I have 3 kids at home, plus an adult child who has moved out and away. I’m happily married, and I am always thinking.
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