October, 2013 Down Syndrome Awareness... Day 2

So yesterday I mentioned that I had asked some really great people to share their experiences with Down Syndrome on MY facebook page. I will introduce them and tell you what they mean to me... and the following day they will do the writing.

Today I'd like to introduce you to...

A rock star…

When babies with problems are born, questions arise and doctors and nurses search for answers. Sometimes those answers come from textbooks, but sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they can only come from someone who has walked the walk. The doctors and nurses… if they are GOOD doctors and nurses… admit they don’t have (all) the answers bring in someone who does.

When Josh was born, it was no different. I had questions, concerns, sadness, gladness and confusion. The doctors and nurses tried their best to help, but the comment of the day seemed to simply be… “You HAVE to meet Oliver.”

You see, apparently… this Oliver kid… he was amazing.

For whatever reason, it never worked out that I got to meet Oliver while we were in the hospital. But, everywhere went with Josh in tow (and this continues today)… whether the Emergency Room or the pediatrician’s office, the pharmacy, Walmart or the grocery store… everyone told me “you HAVE to meet Oliver.”

Everyone knew Oliver. Everyone loved Oliver. Everyone sang Oliver’s praises. I couldn’t WAIT to meet Oliver.

It turns out that this Oliver kid? Well, he IS amazing. In fact, he’s a rock star. He’s funny and handsome and popular and has a way about him that just lets you know that you’re his friend. And a friend is so important.

Oliver plays on a Challenger baseball team like Josh so we saw him and his family quite often last spring. Every week, he had the same ‘buddy’ who stayed with him thru the game and encouraged him. The funny part is tho, I think it was Oliver doing the encouraging. They became true friends… you could tell from afar. I loved watching them and often missed my own kid at bat.

Tomorrow you will meet Judi, Oliver’s mom. Judi and I don’t see a lot of each other (except at baseball) but she’s the type of person that I know if I called, she’d be there… with an ear, a cup of coffee, a word of advice or encouragement and a smile. She is the type of mom I wish I was. I have never seen her feathers ruffled or sensed any frustration with the hand that’s been dealt.

She’s quite a rock star herself. 


And here he is... then and now... still the same smile, still the same rock star status.