This morning, I had the pleasure of attending the 7th Annual PIC (Parent Involvement Committee) Conference. Although, I wasn't actually attending the conference as a parent; rather, I attended as a volunteer manning the booth for the Halton Down Syndrome Association, which was part of the community awareness displays!
As representatives for HDSA, my friend Lori (another member from the board) and I fielded questions about our association, and about Down syndrome. We handed out multiple flyers about the services we offer; provided pens, magnets and a few tattoos for kids too - all with our logo and website on it. We listened to personal experiences parents shared with us about Down syndrome; connected with one parent willing to volunteer - another looking for research, and even provided some information to a friend of a friend who had just received a diagnosis of Down syndrome for their baby. We encountered one family who, when we told them who we were, asked: "What is Down syndrome?" They simply did not know.
Spreading awareness, advocating, educating, and being visible in the community were all excellent reasons for us to attend this community event, which I found to be an extremely valuable and enriching experience overall.
You'll notice in the photo that Lori and I were not alone. In fact, we were accompanied by two of our Graduates*, Adrian and Allan, who were wonderful ambassadors for the association and for those with Down syndrome. Allan is in charge of the Graduate group, as well as a Scout's leader (if you can tell by his uniform, he had just come from a major Scouting event). He attends all of our board meetings where he reports on the activities of the Graduate group, as Jen and I report on the details of the New Parent Group. Allan also sends out the reminders for board meetings. He's pretty amazing; and it was fun to hang out with him, and to get to know Adrian as well! If you take a look at the young lady in the poster, you will notice a young woman with Down syndrome named Emily Boycott. Emily is a long-standing member of HDSA, and you may be interested to know she is a ten-time rhythmic gymnastics Special Olympic medalist!!! I had the pleasure of meeting her at our AGM this year, which her parents host at their home, along with a BBQ for the entire association every summer.
Emily competed for Team Canada in rhythmic gymnastics in Shanghai, China in the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games and brought home an impressive five gold medals. She also competed in the 2011 Special Olympics held in Athens,Greece, and brought home five medals there, and is training to make her third appearance in the Special Olympics World Games next July in Los Angeles. I find her accomplishments to be absolutely remarkable, which is why I am sharing them here. If you'd like to read more about Emily, here is a nice article that came out recently:
All of this to say that the potential is there. It always has been. People with Down syndrome can do amazing things, and they do!
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There was one more experience today, a personal one, that really meant a lot. A woman, whom I had never met, approached our table out of the blue, and, calling me by my name, explained that she went to school with my husband and has loved reading and following my blog, which Dan shares on Facebook. She gave me a huge hug, and then was on her way. I was completely humbled by the experience; her timing could not have been better. I have been struggling through this challenge to get my daily posts in, staying up late into the night, and pushing myself hard physically, mentally and emotionally in my daily life. Then a complete stranger reaches out with reassuring words, and I am reminded of all the times people have approached me and let me know how a particular blog post affected them; or how they felt the exact same way about something, and I am motivated and so grateful to continue on. So thankful we are all in this together.
Thank you so much to all who have been reading my blog - especially during the 31-for-21 Challenge. Your support is incredible, and inspires me to continue sharing our stories and experiences. A special thanks also to those whose lives intersect with mine, if only for a brief moment, through our shared experiences or emotions, and with whom I have the pleasure of meeting with on some kind of common ground. I am happy to find you there, and know I am not alone.
A message I received recently, that deeply impacted me, came from a woman who reached out - through a friend - in regards to the post, 'Chronic Grief'.
This is what she wrote to her friend:
I just wanted to thank you for sharing that blog post this morning. Over the summer my second daughter was diagnosed with Turners and a few other heart issues when I was 15 weeks pregnant and we unfortunately lost her (which is apparently very common for babies with Turners), but when we received the diagnoses we were completely devastated, scared, confused and uninformed. I sincerely wish I could have read this post in July, I would have felt a lot better. Your friend is a fabulous writer and if you speak with her, please let her know that she touched me deeply.
I cried when I read this message. I cried for her unborn child, and for the grief she's had to endure. I shared in this woman's heart ache, and I want to thank her for inspiring me, evoking compassion, and reminding me what the 31-for-21 Challenge is all about, all over again. I blog to share our stories about my children, about Down syndrome, and about life; but I also blog to celebrate life, to celebrate being, and to celebrate our common human experiences. Without having to ask, thank you for all you have given me in return.
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