Happy Birthday Teenager

Thirteen years ago today we were given our special gift. We didn't know he had Down Syndrome until he was born. Our first suspician that something was different was the nurses and doctor surrounding the warming crib where he was put after delivery. My OB doctor came up to me and said we sent for Dr. Kim (my pediatrician)"to make sure your son doesn't have Down Syndrome". Dr. Kim arrived shortly after and examined Danny. I saw Dr. Park look at him and he gave a small nod. Dr. Kim then came to my bedside to talk to Fred and I and said words to this effect: "Your son has Down Syndrome. We're able to tell by the "fat pad" behind his neck and by the the lines in his hands. We will run a chromosome test to verify."He was silent for a minute and then said, "These kids go a long way these days. Many of them learn to read and to do most things all kids do. The most important thing is to just treat him like your other kids." To this day I am eternal thankful for my wonderful doctor. Not once did he say, "I'm sorry" your son has Down Syndrome but he right away encouraged us and even told us about one of his patient's that was doing so well, even reading."

We honestly didn't shed many tears. I do think the tears we did shed were for the child we "lost". We were expecting someone different than we received. Fred took some video of Danny and went home to "tell" the kids. He explained the oxygen tube (Danny needed oxygen for four days and came home on the fifth without it.) and then explained to them that God gave us a very special baby this time. That Danny will need lots of love and lots of help from his brothers and sisters. Kids are so accepting. They all fell in love with him watching that video with tears streaming down their faces. And believe me, they still love and protect him fiercely (!) today!

Dr. Kim gave me information on the Michigan Early On program. Danny started going to "school" at 2 months old. The staff there were absolutely awesome! We went every week for two hours. There were several moms with special needs babies. There was a speech and occupational therapist. They gave us tips on ways to play that would strengthen muscles, tips on feeding, tips on anything we needed. Then the second hour the moms would go in another room for coffee and just talk while the therapists worked with the babies.

At age 3 Danny started riding the bus to school. I was a bit nervous that first day putting him on the bus but he was SO excited. He sat in a carseat by the window grinning and waving away. He had an awesome bus driver, Sandy, who I knew was taking good care of him. We have been very fortunate with Danny's school experience. He started out with the great staff in the Early On program and had great teachers. He had the BEST kindergarten, first and second grade teacher, Mrs. Forbes. We loved her and she loved Danny. I never worried about him at school because I knew he wasn't only being taken care of but he was also being loved! She gave him such a great start in his school experience and he continued to have awesome teachers right through elementary school. He had a bit of a "transition" period last year in middle school. It was a tough start but things are going okay now.

Today Danny is Danny. What more can I say. He can be annoying (!), stubborn (!) and lazy. But mostly he is happy, excited and fun! He is obsessed with Harry Potter. He listens and re-listens and re-listens......to the books on tape. Loudly! It doesn't matter if it's Harry Potter or his music, he has the volume loud! We are forever going up and turning it down. His most favorite place to go is the local library. He finds his way around the library like a "pro". He even looks things up on the computers there if he can't find a book or tape. He comes out with tons of music cd's, mostly Radio Disney, exercise books and "fact" books. Anything in nonfiction wether it's on a certain type of animal, the weather, human body......He loves to then share the"facts" with us. He loves the computer. He can surf the net better than I can. He is forever at the computer with books typing in a website from the back cover or from a cereal box or whatever. His saved "favorites" gets out of hand!

Our family gatherings sure would be boring without Dan. He is the life of the party without even trying. He has us in stitches, often by saying what the rest of us only dare think!

Happy Birthday you big teenager! You bring sunshine to all of our days!