A Little Help From Our Friends!

Ross - You are 8 minutes old in this picture, we were so excited to finally see you!!

Ross,

   When we found out that you would probably be born with Down syndrome, your mom and I were not sure exactly what that meant. We wanted to be good parents but Down syndrome was something we knew little about. So, to learn as much as we could about Down syndrome and to give you the best quality of life possible, your mom and I started looking for help. We found out about a place right here in Kansas City that teaches parents skills that they will need to care for and raise a child like you. A very nice lady at The Down Syndrome Guild of Kansas City contacted us and we went to see her. When we arrived Amy introduced herself to us and we sat down and talked. She told us all about their organization and mission to help families like ours who would be blessed with a child having Down syndrome. As we talked, Amy answered a whole list of questions that mom and I had. If she didn't know the answer she provided us with a list of other people and resources to get those answers. We talked for a long time with Amy and she helped reassure us that having a child with Down syndrome was not a bad thing at all. In fact, most of the reasons that people misunderstand Down syndrome are that they just didn't have the facts about this genetic condition and are scared. Amy became our friend that day and gave your mom and me a lot of hope, encouragement and strength. Because of her, we were able to educate ourselves so that when you were born, we would be prepared and be the best parents in the world just for you. As we were getting ready to leave, Amy said she had a gift for us and it was a huge basket of LOVE. She then welcomed us to our new extended family. The basket had lots of toys, blankets and clothes for you as well as books and videos for mom and me. The gift basket was so wonderful it made your mom and me very happy. 

   There were a lot of other wonderful things about the KCDSG that we learned that day. One wonderful thing was that there are families’ right where we live that have children with Down syndrome and that we just became a part of a wonderful extended family called the Eastland Friends. That means we have lots of support and lots of friends close by who we can talk to and you can play with when you get bigger. There are new parent breakfasts where mom and I can go and meet other parents and talk about their experiences of raising kids just like you. It helps us know what to do if certain things happen as you grow up. And guess what, you got to go too and meet other kids. There are lots of wonderful fun things that they do as a group but I will tell you more about those in another letter. What I want you to understand is that Amy, her staff, the volunteers and all of the wonderful, wonderful sponsors of the KCDSG right here in Kansas City care for you and give families like ours hope, education, support and most of all unconditional love. We owe them a great deal and we will be a part of their family forever.

I Love you Ross,

Daddy

For more information on the Down Syndrome Guild of Greater Kansas City or how you can volunteer or support their mission please go to http://www.kcdsg.org/