A perfect child

After reading the article on Brandi and Emily Steedly (Jan.6 issue, the Index), I had to talk about my own little miracle.

During my fourth pregnancy, some tests indicated that I might be carrying a Down Syndrome baby. I was sent for "genetic counseling" and an amniocentesis. The job of the genetic counselor was to inform my husband and me of our right to abort our less-than-perfect child. She encouraged us to terminate this pregnancy so we could try again.

The statistics were higher that I wasn't carrying a Down Syndrome child than that I was. The chances of the amnio resulting in an "unintended abortion" were greater than the chances of our baby being born with Down Syndrome. We decided to forgo the amnio and let God work it out. We knew he had given us this child, whether she had Down Syndrome or not. We weren't willing to put her at risk to find out something that didn't matter.

That little girl is now six years old. She'll be seven in October. She has a contagious laugh. She brightens any room she enters. And yes, she has Down Syndrome.

She is "overly affectionate" and will hug perfect strangers. I tried to stop this until my son, who is now sixteen years old, pointed out that Mary probably knows better than I do who needs a hug. I still watch her carefully, and try to convince her to ask someone if they want a hug before she dishes one out. But I try to let her be her own person rather than fit her into my mold of what she's "supposed" to be.