Down Syndrome Awareness Month

 October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month. After the birth of Ella and finding out just what it means to know a person who has an extra chromosome, the conclusion I have come to is that there is nothing "wrong" with them. In fact their smiles are contagious, their purity, lack of worry and doubt should be something we strive for. We can learn so much from them if we allow ourselves to. Once I found out that 85-95% of these babies were aborted I was at a loss for words. I didn't know about the magnitude of this problem.  We had recently left Crouse where we were told numerous times that "there is little hope for these children because most are aborted" and "why didn't you have the prenatal testing done? You could have saved yourselves." Or my favorite one from a nurse "You should have done what everyone else did and had an abortion." REALLY?? I should have done what everyone else did? That is by far the worst advice anyone could ever give anyone, so much so that I would NEVER teach that to my children! I believe the 'jumping off the bridge because everyone else did' saying is so famous because of it's absurdity. Having Ella in my life was not the problem, it was the bullying and discrimination that she and we endured that had us shaking our heads. And can I remind you that this all came from hospital staff? Not family, not friends, but nurses and Dr.s. While in Crouse I asked one of the nurses how many cases like Ella they had seen and her exact words were "we have seen about ten, most are aborted, didn't you have prenatal testing done?" It was clear where she was going with that question, and it saddened me. So for this reason I put (am putting- when I figure it out) an abortion ticker on my blog, just as a reminder that there is a war going on and thanks to Ella I am on the front line.

I read this article called "If People with Down Syndrome Ruled the World" and here is what was concluded:

~Affection, hugging and caring for others would make a big comeback

~ All people would be encouraged to develop and use their gifts for helping others.

~ People would be refreshingly honest and genuine.

~ A stuffy high society would probably not do well in the world of Down syndrome.

~The words “hurry” and “fast” would be not be uttered in polite society. “Plenty of time” would take their place.

~Weather would be the only essential news item

Doesn't sound too bad to me!