{"id":17405,"date":"2020-12-10T13:22:27","date_gmt":"2020-12-10T20:22:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/denver\/?p=17405"},"modified":"2020-12-10T13:22:27","modified_gmt":"2020-12-10T20:22:27","slug":"a-chance-to-get-it-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/denver\/2020\/12\/10\/a-chance-to-get-it-right\/","title":{"rendered":"A Chance to Get it Right"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Ask any grandparent and they will tell you<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0there is no love like the love for a grandchild.\u00a0 It\u2019s true.\u00a0 I love all three of my grandchildren with that indescribable grandparent love. But when a child is born with special needs<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0as Alden was born with Down syndrome, a grandparent\u2019s concern and worries multiply, for both the grandchild and for the parents of that child.\u00a0But<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>so<\/span>\u00a0does our appreciation<\/span>. It<\/span>\u00a0multipl<\/span>ies<\/span>\u00a0and intensif<\/span>ies<\/span>\u00a0for all the gifts that\u00a0<\/span>a\u00a0<\/span>special child brings\u00a0<\/span>us.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For me personally comes an additional dimension, the experience of having had a sister born with Down syndrome. Nancy (1968 – 2016) was born in a time, a place<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0and into a family with few resources and even less understanding and insight into the condition. There were so many misconceptions being touted as the truth, being touted as her future. Nancy\u2019s 47 years on this planet were fraught with a long list of medical, cognitive and psychological conditions and a woefully inadequate list for competent medical care, housing, education, training and other related services.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Years ago, before Alden was born, I was a volunteer at a fundraising event for Down syndrome, where I met the \"\"grandparents of a\u00a0<\/span>4-year-old<\/span>\u00a0little girl with Down syndrome.\u00a0 In talking to the grandfather of the little girl, I learned he had a remarkably similar story to my own, a brother born with Down syndrome who died at the age of 17 in a deplorable institutional setting.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The grandfather told me when his granddaughter was born, he saw her as a gift from God, a gift that would give his family a chance to get it right, a chance to make his granddaughter\u2019s life all it could possibly be, all it should be.\u00a0 He would use his insight and experience to be a part of all that. I filed his poignant story and his words of wisdom somewhere in the back of my brain, having no idea at the time that I, too, was going to feel all those same things\u00a0<\/span>someday<\/span>, feel that same opportunity to get it right.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"I\u2019m new to GiGi\u2019s Playhouse<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0but I\u2019m learning about their mission, their vision<\/span>. T<\/span>he importance of having a physical location to grow and develop more of what our Down syndrome community needs, the need for a strong lifetime commitment to families, from a prenatal diagnosis and\/or birth of a child with Down syndrome to developing the skills needed to have a job.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And\u00a0<\/span>so<\/span>\u00a0here\u2019s to many things; to my sister, whose difficult life helped to pave the way for others<\/span>;<\/span>\u00a0to the grandfather I encountered all those years ago<\/span>;<\/span>\u00a0to beautiful and special 7<\/span>–<\/span>year<\/span>–<\/span>old Alden<\/span>;<\/span>\u00a0to my daughter and son-in-law<\/span>\u00a0—<\/span>\u00a0Alden\u2019s devoted parents, who are endlessly fierce advocates for him, who fight for all he deserves, who fight for all the resources available and for the resources not yet available,\u00a0<\/span>who<\/span>\u00a0fight\u00a0<\/span>for the future of all those yet to be born with Down syndrome, an even better world for\u00a0<\/span>them.<\/span> Here\u2019s to GiGi\u2019s Playhouse.\u00a0 Here\u2019s to the chance to get it right. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ask any grandparent and they will tell you,\u00a0there is no love like the love for a grandchild.\u00a0 It\u2019s true.\u00a0 I love all three of my grandchildren with that indescribable grandparent love. But when a child is born with special needs,\u00a0as Alden was born with Down syndrome, a grandparent\u2019s concern and worries multiply, for both the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":177,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-awareness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/denver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/denver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/denver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/denver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/177"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/denver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/denver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17405\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/denver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/denver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/denver\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}