‘We sat and listened to another doctor tell us how sorry they were, and how my child wouldn’t amount to much.’: Mom urges daughter with Down syndrome is ‘nothing to be sorry about’

“When Emily was just a few hours old, we sat there while a doctor told us she was sorry she ‘shattered our world,’ because Emily probably had Down syndrome.

Then, at just a few days old, we sat and listened to another doctor tell us how sorry she was that Emily definitely had Down syndrome, how hard life would be, and how she wouldn’t amount to much.

I just sat there.

These were doctors, medical ‘professionals,’ speaking to us.

They know about what they’re talking about, right!?

Well sometimes the people who should know better, don’t.

I think it took me until Emily was about 6 months old to get my head around her having Down syndrome, an extra chromosome…which is really not that big a deal.

And definitely nothing to be sorry about.

Emily is truly perfect and I wouldn’t change a single thing about her (apart from if she could maybe stop the 2 a.m. parties).

It makes me sad to think of her early days…

How I just sat there.

HowI didn’t stand up for her.

I didn’t tell the doctor there’s nothing to be sorry about, that she’s going to have a wonderful life, that we are the luckiest family because she’s ours and nothing is going to hold her back.

I just sat there.

So, if you wonder why I am going on and will always continue to go on about how wonderful she is, or why I advocate so much for her, it’s for Down syndrome. That’s why.

Because I didn’t stand up for her then.

There will be no more just sitting there; I will NEVER not stand up for her again and I won’t ever let anyone say sorry about her again.

Having Down syndrome is nothing to be sorry about and I won’t stop talking about it until medical professionals, society, and the world acknowledge this.”

This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Isabel Heron. You can follow her journey on Facebook and Instagram. Submit your own story here and be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.

Read Isabel’s other story here:

‘I may not be who you expected, but I am exactly who I am supposed to be.’: Mom pens touching letter from perspective of daughter with Down syndrome

Read more stories like this here:

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‘My disabled child is not an ‘angel.’ He is not ‘celestial’ or ‘heavenly.’ He’s just like you, fully human.’: Down syndrome mom claims son ‘wasn’t sent here to teach you or me something’

‘A baby boy thought to have Down syndrome has been dumped in the bushes. Do you want him?’: Social worker becomes foster mom to abandoned babies with end-of-life needs

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