I Feel Like I've Joined a Special Club

I was sitting at the side of the pool with Aidan, watching Liam have his swimming lessons. A dad and his little boy sat beside us and we started to chat. The little boy had his bathing suit on, and showed me that he had a 4 inch scar on his lower back, close to his side. "I got an owie (sp?)", he said to me. His dad said he had to have an operation on his kidney. So, then I told the little boy that Aidan had an operation too, and would he like to see Aidan's scar? - of course he said, yes! So I showed Aidan's little heart scar, or as my flickr friend, Jennie, says his "chest zipper".

What followed was a conversation with the dad about having kids go through operations. How difficult it is, how thankful that we are that modern surgical procedures are as advanced as they are, and how we rejoiced when our kids were "fixed up".

Then he asked me, "so, is it any different to have a child with Down syndrome?"

I had to think for a second, then said, "yes, you know it really is for me. Since Aidan was born, I feel like I've joined a very special club. What I mean is that people who have kids, grandkids, siblings, etc. with Down syndrome just seem compelled to come and talk to us. We're tied together by that special little person with the extra chromosome, and that's kind of cozy."

I really feel blessed to have Aidan in our family, and I know the rest of my family feels the same way.

Well, that's it. Just wanted to share that thought with the world.

Echoes of Stress

Aidan had a cardio appointment yesterday to meet our new cardiologist and have an echocardiogram done. He took it like a trooper--but not me. I was very stressed about it--to the point of panic attacks. I can't believe how much of the raw shock from the first echo came back at me. I knew that Aidan was fine this time around--there have been no signs of heart failure and the cardiologist in Winnipeg said he was completely repaired. But still, I thought that he was fine before his first echo--I really believed his ticker was okay and the shock I felt when they told me he had 3 holes in his heart and would experience heart failure and need surgery completely overwhelmed me. I remember I felt like I was being kicked repeatedly in the stomach. I guess you never forget those feelings, and even a routine echo has the power to send my head spinning.

Anyways, Aidan was great. He lay back with his hands behind his head while the technician performed the echo. He looked like he was getting a massage at the spa. Best news is that his heart is still fine, and we do not need to go back for about 5 years.

So, those panic attacks were unwaranted, but sure served a purpose to remind us how far we have come, and to be grateful for it.