My daughter has Down Syndrome

Hi my name is Joy and i am a mother of 3 beautiful girls Lauren = 15, Bianca = 3 and Allanah = 1.
Allanah is my special little angel who was diagnosed 2 weeks after birth as having down syndrome, at 5 months she was diagnosed with hirschsprungs disease (bowel disease) this is her only down fall when it comes to her having down syndrome. Allanah has had to endure a few operations to correct her bowel problem in which she is to have her last operation on Feb 13/04 this will enable her to use her bowel as normal as the next person. At the moment Allanah uses a colostomy to relieve her bowel and in the last operation this will be removed. Allanah is a happy bubbly little girl who doesn't let anything fase her, she is loved not only by her immediate family but those that come in contact with her.
If anyone out there can somehow relate to my story then please don't hesitate to reply.

You can email me if you like at: oldenough_Sydney@yahoo.com.au

Hope to hear from you soon till then take care...

Hi there, It's great to see that you have accepted your beautiful little girls handicap and encourage her to have as full a life as possible. I have a 4 year old foster son who has just been assesed for autism. We should have a diagnosis in a few more weeks but there is a greater than 80% chance that he is autistic. He's been with me for 2 years now and it's been hard work but sooooo rewarding. Hopefully a diagnosis of autism will make the resources available that he needs to give him the most normal life possible.
My email address is e.jamieson@bigpond.com if you want to chat.
Good luck,
Erin.

Hi Erin thankyou for your reply,unfortunately it isn't a good time for me to be emailing people as i am going to be flat out this week and next as my daughter Allanah will be going into hospital on Friday 13th Feb 2004 and will be in for approx 6 days and when she comes home it will be a couple of days before i get back into the swing of things,so therefore i will hold off on the email chat and wait till all this is behind me and then i will send along an email to you.
As for your foster son i hope all goes well for him i know how it can be in the waiting game it's the not knowing that agonises me, anyway will close off now so do take care and all the best.

Hi Joy,
hopefully all went well on friday and Allanah is doing well. If it's ok i would like to chat with you, i am an older mum too. I'll send you an email - but you don't need to reply straight away as you have enough on your plate right now.
All the best

Hi Joy
My son does not have Down Syndrome but I do know of a couple who have a gorgeous little girl who does.
I think that these special and magnificant children are just as brave as any normal child. They are so very cute and never turn down a hug. They are always smiling and just very loving.
Mel

hi joy
how did allanah's operation go.

sending u all a big hug

from michelle

Allanah's operation went extremely well thankyou for asking. It is now 2 months since the operation was done and all is going well at the moment.
Since the operation i have opened up 3 websites to show awareness about hirschsprung's disease which is what Allanah has.

It is so true when you say they love cuddles Allanah is now 16 months old and every morning and every night she loves to cuddle but any other time she is just like any normal child she wants to get up and play and that she does she keeps herself amused when playing with her toys or watching the wiggles.

Hi,
my younger brother (David) has downs syndrome. I am 21 and he has just turned 18. i have 5 brothers and sisters and we were all adopted at birth. davids birth parents decided when he was diagnosed with downs syndrome that they couldnt cope with a child who wasnt "normal" and so my parents adopted him. He is one of the best things in my life and i am so greatful that he is apart of our family. He needed a heart operation when he was a baby as he had a hole in it and nearly died numerous times. he is a happy and loving boy and doing really well. His speech is rather poor and has a few educational problems but has a lot of love in his life which is the main thing.
I am a single mum with an 8month old girl and david so good with her, they get along so well.
people are not always accepting of him, but that is often because they dont understand what his condition is and they often havent had personal experineces with disability.
I hope that everything turns out well for you and your family, i know your daughter will provide you with much love and happiness. there are lots of organisations out there who are really good to turn to if you need help or advice or want to meet other children with downs syndrome. try the downs syndrome association.
Amanda

sorry joy i should have given you a helpful website to look at. it is www.supportfind.com
it has lots of support groups and information that may be useful in your area!

Hi Amanda,
Thankyou so much for your message.
I can tell you that i have so much support around me friends, family support networks - the down syndrome association,the hirschsprungs association most of whom have DS children and the early ED program so i am definately not short of support.
I agree with what you say that there is not enough awareness out there regarding down syndrome, it is really up to people like us to show awareness show those who are un-accepting of these beautiful children that down syndrome is not a disease that they can catch but a birth defect that only makes us stronger people in how we cope with it.
I feel those people who don't want to cope with it are ashamed of their DS child, little do they know that some downs children/adults are just as smart if not smarter than ourselves.
God gave down syndrome children to those he felt could cope. In the early years 50-60's and the early 70's down syndrome children were put in institutions if their parents didn't want them but these days we are encouraged to take on the responsibility of caring for our DS child and look at the results we have come up with beautiful loving children who haven't a care in the world and who wouldn't harm a fly.

Take care ... Joy

thats cool
thankyou i will check it out