Our society is not only unfair but also judgemental towards special kids and their parents.
While these parents show a lot of courage to raise their kids with the best they have, our society fails them!
We judge them for their miseries and forget to see how courageous and strong these kids have been. This is one such story of courage & persistence that we wish brings some change in our society. We hope it brings more acceptance, and brings more empathy!
Recalling her struggle of raising her child with down syndrome, this mother shared with HOB:
“My husband and I always wanted a child. The first time I got pregnant, we were so happy to welcome a new member into our family.
But due to some complications, I had a miscarriage.
We were devastated – but I didn’t lose hope; I still wanted to be a mother.
After a few months, I was finally pregnant again. 34 weeks into my pregnancy, one day, on my way to dinner, I started contracting and was rushed to the hospital. I was in labor, and knew it was going to be painful, but I was more excited than anything else!
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Everything happened so quickly! The only thing I distinctly remember was my baby’s first cry, and how the whole room went silent after it. They just told me that my daughter had to be taken into the NICU.
She was premature and they needed to make sure she was okay.
I was so exhausted that I fell asleep with only one thought in my mind – that I’d get to meet my beautiful Norah in the morning. As soon as I woke up, my husband and I rushed to the NICU. There, the doctor looked at us and said,
‘From her features, we fear that she has Down Syndrome’.
I froze – in that moment, I didn’t know how to react. Later, when I finally held Norah in my arms I just sobbed. For the next few days, I could barely gather myself. I was worried for her, for us. Every day the doctors would come in and tell me about all the things that could possibly go wrong with her development and how to deal with it.
After we got home, my husband and I would take turns taking care of her. For the longest time though, I couldn’t see her as my baby girl, I only saw her as all those things I was told could go wrong. I couldn’t help it….
But over time, the one thing that changed everything was the bond I developed with Norah.
This one time I was with my husband and just broke down. But when she saw me crying, she started patting my face. Just the simple fact that she understood I was upset, and knew how to make me feel better, was enough to make me realize that she wasn’t just a baby with Down Syndrome.
She’s much more than that.
It didn’t get any easier, but my perspective changed. I wanted Norah to be social, but plenty of times mothers refused to let their children meet or touch Norah. They’d ask me things like,
‘Is it contagious?’ or ‘Will she always look like that?’.
It hurt me to see my daughter singled out for no fault of hers.
But the minute I look at her smiling face, I know she’ll be okay. You’ll rarely see Norah upset. She’s always open to meeting people and always laughing.
That’s what gives me strength to fight the world, to make it a better place for her to live in.
To make everyone understand that she’s like any other human; just filled with some extra sunshine.”
We wish loads of happiness and love to this beautiful family and wish their story will inspire us to be a bit more empathetic & loving towards people who are different.
And, hope our society remembers.
“It’s okay to be different, it’s okay to not fit into any box. Different is beautiful.”
