In the eyes of a super sibling…

Four years ago I was pumped to learn I would have another baby brother. Our whole family was looking forward to his arrival. We would talk about “Floyd” constantly as my mom mentioned in an earlier post. This was the name we referenced the baby with, but not his actual name. The beans got spilt on his actual name during family dinner one night. I don’t remember exactly how it played out, but I knew we were talking about the new Star Wars movie and mom accidentally called the baby Finn instead of Floyd. I think my brothers and I were confused and we thought maybe she just mixed up Floyd with one of the new character’s name from the movie. Mom quickly confirmed the name, but we were sworn to secrecy from then on out.

While I was indifferent to keeping Finn’s name a secret, I am happy mom didn’t keep Finn’s diagnosis of Down syndrome a secret. I was glad my parents felt comfortable enough to share this and show us that we could all embrace his difference fully. Embracing Finn led to embracing the whole Down syndrome community. Our family has jumped on board to the Down Syndrome Activism train. Obviously, my mom has done the most, with helping to open a new GiGi’s Playhouse and taking on so many other responsibilities, but she has motivated all of us to make our mark. From pitching in with painting and cleaning at the Playhouse, being on the youth board, to wearing our DS shirts and colors proudly on World Down Syndrome Day, and most importantly, being supportive of Finn all the way.

Without Finn, I would likely be at the Naval Academy or in an ROTC program right now studying to be an engineer. Finn and my mom equally inspired me to do so much in my high school years. I joined my high school’s Special Olympics team, was a peer leader in the Integrated PE class and I was a member of the youth board for GiGi’s Playhouse. Finn changed my life and actually led me to this desk in my dorm at Marquette. Observing the obstacles that Finn’s biological composition put in front of him when visiting him in the hospital, sitting in during therapy sessions and just observing him go through his day got me thinking how could I help people like him in the future?….. Become a Pediatric PT! Senior year I applied for Marquette’s DPT program and here I am.

Just as Finn has been ever present in my life, influencing my career path and rounding out my race day cheering squad, I aim to be there for Finn to maximum capacity. The minute I found out I was going to be a sister again, though, a sad though entered my mind: I was only going to have three years with him. I wanted the ability watch him grow up as Owen and I had together and I had seen Liam grow into the amazing little dude that he is. I thought when I left for college, Finn would forget all about me. I don’t know if I concluded that off of his age or maybe I thought because he had Down syndrome he wouldn’t be able to remember me. As a freshman in high school, I had no clue what Down syndrome meant for how a person could be affected, but I hate that that could have been my thought process; it is unfair to assume what he would or would not be able to do. From that moment, I worked as hard as I could to leave a positive, lasting impression on him. I would like to think I succeeded in doing so. I loved to hold Finn, sit next to him in the car, dance with him and play with him (I still love to do all these things with him, but my opportunities are limited now that I live an hour away). Needless to say, Finn has not forgotten me. I FaceTime with him and the rest of the fam multiple times a week and we go on exchanging goofy faces and he tells me about his day (This is a highlight of my day!). I still get to watch him grow up, but it’s just a little different now, and I am so proud to be his sister.

~Hannah Ray, Finn’s Super Sister