“There is no standard, objective, perfect human being. The metrics of perfection are arbitrary and imposed in the service of those who fit them. My daughter is perfect. Exactly the way she is.” – Caterina Scorsone in People‘s Kindness issue
In People magazine’s latest kindness issue Grey’s Anatomy star Caterina Scorsone opens up about raising a child who has Down Syndrome and since everything she said is in line with my different is cool massage I just had to share the recorded interview.
Children are a heritage from the Lord,
offspring a reward from him.
– Psalm 127: 3
It’s 1 : 20 PM on day 1782 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, pray, read Matthew 14, publish my Disability of the Day feature, learn one new thing – the vast majority (more than 90 percent) of bird species are monogamous. That doesn’t necessarily mean mating for life. Some species are monogamous for just one breeding season. – have breakfast, make sandwiches for Cynthia’s ( our housekeeper’s) neighborhood with mom’s help as part of Virginia’s Sandwich Run – (thank you sisi Cynthia for all your help) – and promote my Educate Generations campaign – $3 372 raised so far (thanks everyone 
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Recently while on Facebook I came across a story about a couple adopting a girl who has Down Syndrome from China and although I was happy for the little girl and the family I hated the article because it made the adoptive couple seem like saints for adopting the girl with Down Syndrome meanwhile that little girl will give to her adoptive family as much as they give to her I hate it when the media perpetuates this idea that differently-abled people are burdens on society people like me and that little girl have much to contribute to this world because we’ve had to learn how to do things differently.
“There is nothing impossible to him who will try.” – Alexander the Great
It’s 12 : 25 PM on day 1603 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast, pray, read Jeremiah 20, publish my Disability of the Day feature, learn one new thing –Sea otters hold hands when they sleep so they don’t drift apart – and promote my Educate Generations campaign–still on $1 730 and still grateful (God when you have a moment to spare please help me. Thank you in advance 🙂 ).
Recently I watched 12-year-old Madison Tevlin defying statistical odds by singing in spite of having Down Syndrome (Madison must use twice the standard vocal energy to produce sound to speak) I was so proud of her determination to inspire. Watch “ALL OF ME- COVER BY MADISON TEVLIN” below:
The world is not of the opinion that every life has value – that’s what I keep realizing.
It’s 1 : 02 PM on day 1297 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to pray, brush my teeth, read Job 31, publish my Disability of the Day feature, feed myself bread and eggs for breakfast, promote my Eradicate AIDS campaign – no donations so far today either it’s been 8 days since the last donations but I’ll keep trying and trying and trying until I reach my goal – practice sitting up straight to strengthen my core muscles and stretch my hamstrings
Yesterday I was on YouTube reading people’s comments about the Dear Future Mom video I was shocked and heartbroken to read that some people would abort their children if they found out that their children had Down Syndrome if my parents got rid of me before I was born because I was different everything I’ve done wouldn’t have been done.
“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown” ― H.P. Lovecraft, Supernatural Horror in Literature
It’s 12 : 20 PM on day 1296 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to pray, brush my teeth, read Job 30, publish my Disability of the Day feature, feed myself bread with egg for breakfast, promote my Eradicate AIDS campaign – no donations so far today – practice sitting up straight to strengthen my core muscles, go out with my parents – it’s March holidays here in South Africa school’s out for a week, my brother’s at a badminton tournament and my sister’s at med school so it’s just my parents and I 24/7 I love my parents but it being just the three of us makes me wonder if this is what my future is going to be like when my brother leaves home just thinking about it freaks me out my parents are great but I don’t want to live with them for the rest of my life I want to be out there working hard and having fun – stretch my hamstrings and continue promoting my campaign – still no luck.
Yesterday I watched DEAR FUTURE MOM – a heartwarming message from 15 people with Down Syndrome to a future mom of a child who has Down Syndrome – and I thought it was worth sharing. Watch DEAR FUTURE MOM below:
“Lots of people think Archie’s so different but he’s just like any other kid.” – Ace Eicher
It’s 12 : 18 PM on day 1151 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, pray, read 2 Kings 9, publish my Disability of the Day feature, feed myself Bran Flakes for breakfast, practice sitting up straight to strengthen my core muscles, stretch my hamstrings, change my top and hang out with my sister.
This morning I saw this video of a little girl talking about her brother who has Down Syndrome my life’s message is that different is beautiful and this little girl and her family convey that beautifully in this video. Watch “For My Brother on Down Syndrome Day” By Ace below:
Differently abled people need acceptance not a cure – that’s what I wish the world would understand 🙂
It’s 1 : 00 PM on day 1046 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to pray, brush my teeth, feed myself All Bran Flakes for breakfast, read Judges 5, publish my Disability of the Day feature, tweet and Facebook about my campaign – no one donated so far today either but I will reach my goal because I won’t quit that’s one of the things I love about myself whether it’s changing my t-shirt or raising money to end human trafficking I won’t stop doing something until I get it done I put the Energizer bunny to shame LOL 🙂 – take off my dirty jacket and t-shirt and put a clean t-shirt on, stretch my hamstrings, practice sitting up straight to strengthen my core muscles and spend some time outside – sitting outside looking at the blue sky I couldn’t help feeling sorry for people who get to the end of their lives thinking I wish I spent more time enjoying the sunshine because when all is said and done you won’t remember all the hours you spent at the office you’ll remember all of your moments in the sun.
A few days ago I read If my child could wake up without special needs – a blog post on Love That Max reacting to the news that scientists might one day be able to “cure” Down Syndrome through gene therapy – I, like Ellen, don’t think differently abled people need to be “cured” it’s not like Cerebral Palsy or Autism or Down Syndrome are terminal illnesses I think people should spend less time trying to “cure” us and more time educating themselves about the conditions they’re trying to “cure” us of. When you meet a differently abled person do you try to fix whatever’s “wrong” with them how ever you can or accept them just as they are?
Having a “disability” doesn’t mean you can’t do things it just means you have to work harder to get things done– that’s what I keep learning.
It’s 3 : 23 PM on day 939 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, practice sitting up straight to strengthen my core muscles, feed myself All Bran Flakes for breakfast, pray, publish my Disability of the Day feature, practice typing with both hands, read Leviticus 19 and take off my dirty t-shirt and put a clean t-shirt on.
A couple of days ago I read about Eli Reimer, a fifteen-year-old who became the first person with Down Syndrome to reach the base camp of Mount Everest, having a “disability” doesn’t mean you can’t do things it just means you have to work harder to get things done. Do you see a “disabled” person and automatically assume that they can’t do the same things that you can do?
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Dream big no matter what – that’s what I keep learning 🙂
It’s 3 : 53 PM on day 906 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to stretch my hamstrings, practice sitting up straight to strengthen my core muscles, brush my teeth, pray, read Exodus 26, publish my Disability of the Day feature, practice typing with both hands, feed myself half a peanut butter sandwich and spring rolls for breakfast, drink ginger tea by myself and watch TV.
A couple of days ago I came across Tim’s Place: Where breakfast, lunch and HUGS are served! – a video about Tim Harris. a successful restaurateur who just happens to have Down Syndrome. Watch this inspirational story below:
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You can understand why someone feels the way the way they do and still not agree with them – that’s what I keep learning 🙂
It’s 3 : 00 PM on day 808 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to stretch my hamstrings, brush my teeth, publish my Disability of the Day feature, practice typing with both hands, feed myself toast, scrambled eggs and sausages for breakfast, watch TV and practice sitting up straight to strengthen my core muscles.
Last night I read I love my disabled child – but I’d give my life to make her normal: The mother of a severely autistic girl makes a painfully honest confession by Meg Henderson – another article written in reply to Dominic Lawson who said he would never want to ‘cure’ his daughter of Down’s syndrome – I really felt for Meg I’m sure it was extremely difficult raising a child with severe Autism with little to no support but I couldn’t believe a mother could write And, forgive me for saying it, her problems are a huge burden to herself and her family. especially since she and her husband adopted Louise and her sister, Marion, I couldn’t imagine how I would feel if I thought my mother thought I was a burden and basically said all the effort and energy she put into me was wasted. Do you often understand someone else’s point of view even though you don’t agree with it?
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