Confirmed Results

Every time the phone has rang today, my stomach has dropped. But the call that I was waiting for did come, and of course, the news that we were expecting was indeed what we had thought it would be. I thought that I was ready to hear it. I thought that I had geared myself up for those words, but I still broke down when the doctor said, "the test results confirm that your son does have Down syndrome". I hugged Cobee close to me sobbing. "What do I do now? Where do I go, who am I supposed to call?" "Just care for him and love him like you do your other children." Is all that the doctor could tell me. There has got to be more to it than that!?! So I insisted that I got some information on support groups in the area, or at least someone else that I could call. He told me to stop by the hospital, and there would be another doctor that could give me a few names. Okay. So there you have it. It is now official that our lives will be changed forever. And for the better, I am sure. I know that this little boy will change the lives of so many. He already has. I still have nurses calling to check up on me and Cobee, and just to talk to me and see if there is anything they can do to comfort me. I have to say that our experience at the hospital was amazing. Everyone was genuinely concerned. How neat. They don't even know me, but I feel like they have been friends of mine for a long time. I realize just how important and fortunate I am for this experience, because over the last few days, I have read everything that I can find about Down syndrome, and I got a hold of some old literature. It talked about how families were encouraged to institutionalize babies right from the start. Families were told that the child would "handicap" the rest of the family. A lot of families would send their baby off. One book said that "at the turn of the century, studies showed that children raised in their own homes with their families were advancing and living lives that were never expected of these children. SHOCKER! It said, and I quote, "besides, these children make great pets." Yeah. I put that literature as far from me as I could. This was all just 30 or 40 years ago. Wow. I am so blessed to be living now. There was never any mention about a mental institution, or anything of the sort. These children are so excepted and loved, now that society recognizes all of the good that they can do. I know that there will be hard times, and people who do not and will not tolerate children like Cobee, but as God as my whiteness, I will make a difference to those around me by bearing my testimony of his nature, and I know that he won't need my help to make a difference and leave an imprint on the hearts of all thosae he comes in contact with.