Creating awareness and changing lives

My sister attended last year’s gala where our key note speaker, Rob Snow, the parent of a child with Down’s syndrome recounted the story about the birth of his son. Rob talked about an incredible coincidence…the nurse that assisted during the birth of his son happened to have a child with Down syndrome. When Rob and his wife learned of Henry’s diagnosis the nurse said congratulated them and commented on how lucky they would be to have Henry in their life.

My sister, Rita, works in a veterinary clinic. One of the clinic’s patients was expecting a child. During a recent visit to the clinic she very quietly explained to Rita that the doctors had found that her unborn child has Down’s syndrome. She was sad and almost embarrassed to be sharing her news. My sister put a big grin on her face and said, “Congratulations!”  The patient looked at her with a quizzical look but slowly started to smile. Rita went on to say “you are going to have so much love in your life…”

The next time and every other time the woman came back to the clinic, she had a smile and had lost the forlorn look. It was as though, finally, someone had given her permission to be happy about her pregnancy. Instead of hearing…”I’m so sorry” when she told people about their diagnosis she heard the excitement and warmth in my sister’s voice.

I am so proud of my sister. And I truly believe that stories like this demonstrate the importance of this event…it is more than just fund raising…it is changing lives!