Down Syndrome is something that no parent wishes upon their child. But for Cristina, her daughter’s diagnosis was a blessing in disguise. In Cristina’s eyes, her daughter’s down syndrome is something they can all learn from and she is more thankful than ever that when her daughter was born she could say, “It’s a girl.”
By: Cristina Lockward
“Congratulations, it’s a girl!” It’s the phrase I heard on August 27, 2011 when my pregnancy ended at 39 weeks.
With great pain I arrived at the clinic and SofÃa was born at 1 a.m., the most beautiful baby I had ever seen, and I am a mother of three other children.
Sofia’s birth brought a strange silence in the delivery room, her crying was not, as they say, ‘conventional’, rather it was a late warning that something was not right.
Good Chances of Down Syndrome
That night, I was not informed of her condition. The next day, the doctor and my husband told me there was a good chance that she had been born with Down Syndrome.
The following days were difficult and in tears and complaints we received the final results: Sofia had been officially diagnosed.
I tried at first to give thanks because my daughter was special and as everyone told me “God only gives special children to those who are special,” but I really never understood this, for me, all my children are special!
After several weeks, I decided to understand and deal with what was happening. As with any other situations that I had dealt with in my life, I sought information. I made a list of things that we needed to evaluate to make sure Sofia was physically well: heart, hearing, eyes, thyroid, hips, neck, spine and more. I went to every specialist explaining and repeating her condition, it was all a form of therapy.
Today, celebrating my beautiful Sofia’s first year, I tell myself “Congratulations, it’s a girl!” And congratulations to my family and I, as we have been one of the few awarded ‘the secret of life.’
With Sofia, we’ve understood the wonder of the human spirit, how amazing it is to breath, to see, to hear, to speak, how important it is to creep, crawl, walk, and, above all, how amazing we are as we learn and develop. We learned that we are not born with a silver spoon in our mouth, but that with happiness in our hearts, it beats. We’ve learned that we don’t need to seek anything outside of what we already have, we are born breathing, seeing, hearing and even those who cannot have some of these capabilities can develop others that are equally or more important.
Down Syndrome will not hold us back
Thank you, God! It’s a girl that will play, learn, develop and above all, a girl loved by her family who understands her needs and strengths, who sees in her the desire to learn and will never put limits on what, like any other human, she can achieve.
This first year of Sofia’s life has been the most valuable thing we have had as a family. A year especially revealing, a year to understand how ‘special’ we are, a hopeful one.
Christina answers the Identity 5:
What have you accepted in your life that took time, physically or mentally?
Mentally, the fact that my daughter Sofia has a condition was a challenge to be accepted.
What do you appreciate about yourself and within your life?
My family is my treasure, I am who I am because of them.
What is one of your most rewarding achievements in life? What goals do you still have?
To have been able to open a preschool has been my main achievement. Touching and teaching lives of so many young ones has been very fulfilling.
I would like to see my daughter Sofia fully developed and have her brother and sisters attain their full potential.
What is your not-so-perfect way? What imperfections and quirks create your Identity?
I’m too methodical and a perfectionist sometimes I think that makes me forget the simple things in life.
How would you complete the phrase “I Love My…?”
I Love my life.
All of Identity’s October articles will be representing the Charity, Sole Ryeders. Sole Ryeders will be raising money for a fund to supply Breast BFFL Bags to the under-served in White Plains, NY at White Plains Hospital. Tax Deductible donations can be made directly to the hospital or Sole Ryeders. Please feel free to make a donation below.
