My story of having a child with Down Syndrome -
August, 2008

This is a personal story of what it is like having a child with Down Syndrome, by Barbara Thompson of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Sarah Palin's Down Syndrome baby reminded me of my own child

It was very emotional for me to watch the Republican National Convention as Sarah Palin was introduced as Senator John McCain's Vice-Presidential running mate. As they introduced the Palin family my eyes filled with tears as the camera zoomed in on little Trig Palin, her new baby with Down Syndrome, asleep on his father's shoulder.

The reason for such emotion on my part is because it brought back so many memories of the day I brought my little baby boy, Nathan, home from the hospital. He too was diagnosed with Down Syndrome, only back then the doctors used the word "mongoloid" to describe Nathan’s condition. We didn't know what the word "mongoloid" meant or what Down Syndrome was or even what it meant to be parents for that matter. That was 33 years ago and Nathan was our first child.

Challenges having a child with Down Syndrome

The joy of having our first baby was soon overshadowed with the news that our son was not going to be "normal" and would face many challenges in his life. It was even suggested by our doctor that it would be best if we would consider putting Nathan in an institution and not to try to care for him at home. My husband and I decided that whatever challenges this little boy would have, we were going to take him home and love him and help him all we could to reach his full potential as a human being.

Those first few weeks and months were a roller coaster ride of emotions for us and me especially. Most dads go to work and have other things that occupy their time, but us moms are the ones that face the challenges day in and day out with our kids. Sometimes I would be able to go about my day caring for the needs of Nathan like any mother would do with a brand new baby, but at other times I was filled with great sadness and disappointment and even a little scared of what the future would hold for us as a family. During the nine months you wait for your child to be born, you dream, plan and envision what your child's life will be like, who they will become, what accomplishments they will achieve. It seemed as though all those dreams and hopes had died with Nathan's diagnosis.

How we overcame the challenges of having a child with Down Syndrome

With the help and support of family and friends we tried to focus on the positive and being the best parents we could be. One of the first things we did was to educate ourselves about Down Syndrome. It is also referred to as Trisomy 21 since there is an extra chromosome at the 21st pair of chromosomes. We also got involved with parents support groups which were a tremendous benefit to us. We drew strength from sharing with others who had children with Down Syndrome and we also learned what to expect in the various stages of our son's development.

Down Syndrome 33 years later

Our son Nathan is now 33 years old. He hasn't graduated from college, owned his own business, traveled the world or accomplished many of the things other young men his age have done, but he has far exceeded the expectations we were given those 33 years ago. Nathan bowls on several bowling leagues each week and has an average score of 120. He plays on Special Olympics basketball and track teams and plays baseball during the summer months. He goes to our local Junior College, participating in a continuing education class with other developmentally disabled adults. He attends summer camps, dances and other social and community events. Every year my husband and I take Nathan and 2 of his friends to a major league baseball game of their choosing. So, contrary to what some people say about the poor quality of life these individuals must have, you could never convince Nathan and his friends that they do not have fun and fulfilling lives.

Nathan and his friends have taught us some very valuable lessons in this life like learning to love and accept people unconditionally, patience and realizing that individuals with disabilities have feelings and emotions just like normal people do. These are just to name a few but our life has been blessed in many, many ways by our son Nathan.

This journey we are on called life can throw a lot of curves and bumps in the road, but we have found that if we invite God on the journey with us, He will smooth over the bumps and steer us around the curves and help us become better individuals while traveling down that road.

For more information about Down Syndrome go to www.ndss.org for the National Down Syndrome Society.

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