Sadly, the world is not kind to people with Down Syndrome and there are lots of misconceptions surrounding this genetic disorder. People tend to look at these people differently and often with discrimination and prejudice. All this, along with the stares they get, may result in undermining their self-confidence.
A father of a loving boy with Down Syndrome wants to change the way these people are perceived by the society and wants to raise awareness of how important they are so everyone should embrace them in their life because they are wonderful souls.
He shares a heartwarming story of how his son is his savior who was by his side during the darkest day of his life.
Facebook/Church & Sons Painting Co.
Jeff Church recalls how his son JJ pulled him from the state of despair and misery without asking any questions, by simply offering his presence and support. And that was more than enough for a father to feel in order to get the strength of moving forward. Frank Somerville, a reporter for KTVU news shared the father’s touching words.
‘”It was long ago… I was at the end of my rope. I had just received a phone call that made everything in life even worse.
I felt my world was collapsing around me. I was lost. And with that one call, I had given up hope.
Too emotionally spent to even stand, I broke down in that big empty home. It was dark, dusty and cold. I cried with the heartache of a child. And all I could hear was my cries echoing back at me.
Then I heard JJ running up the stairs from his room. He found me in my master bedroom on the floor, in the dark curled up against the bed. He knew to keep the lights off. He saw I was inconsolable….”
Facebook/Church & Sons Painting Co.
‘”Instead of asking me what’s wrong like someone else might, JJ rocked me. He sat on the floor next to me and he held me tight. And he rocked me.
And JJ told me: ‘It go be okay. It go be okay. It go be okay. It go be okay’ in perfect rhythm as he rocked me. ‘It go be okay. It go be okay.'”
Jeff hopes everyone will understand how compassionate people with Donw Syndrome can be. They are willing to offer their support and help without the desire to go into details of why someone needs it.
‘”That was a rough night. And JJ got me through it. That night JJ was beyond his years.
JJ has his limitations. He has cognitive delay. He stutters a bit conveying his thoughts.
But when it comes to moments of the heart, they’re compassionate and understanding with no conditions. That makes them genuine and real.
We should all have a little bit of Down Syndrome in us. They’re way nicer people than we are.”
Facebook/Church & Sons Painting Co.
October is Down Syndrome Awareness month in the U.S and it is all about making people familiar with the syndrome, which will hopefully make them more acceptable of these people as well as others who are a bit different.
Just like most other couples, this couple, husband and his wife Nicole Ziesemer really wished and prayed for the strength to have their pregnancy as natural as possible.
WHat they actually wanted was as few medical interventions as they could, none at all, if at all possible, so they hired a midwife and hoped that their sweet baby would be welcomed to the world in their home, not even having an ultrasound., wow!
But we are sad to say that in reality, things did not quite go to plan…
Facebook / Nicole Ziesemer
Matthew’s and Nicole’s little baby was expected to be born on January 30, as fate would go through, Nicole had no choice but to dash to the hospital a full four and a half weeks earlier!
The couple was amazed when her waters broke so early in December, on the 29th to be precise…
Matthew and his wife were left with nothing else to do but to pack their bags, in a rush, and get to the hospital, their timing could not have been any worse because before they left Matthew had to clear the driveway of snow from a snowstorm…
Ellsworth
The snowstorm combined with the awful road conditions slowed things down but they were still able to get to the hospital that night and Nicole’s contractions carried on through Saturday…
Now all this had happened she pretty much abandoned her thoughts to a natural birth.
Though Nicole was still adamant about one thing, that she held onto steadfast, that she would not take any medicine or drugs or even anesthesia to help her during the birth.
But eventually, this plan too fell by the wayside, and after 30 hours, her husband knew in his heart he had to take action…
Facebook / Nicole Ziesemer
He wasn’t about to see his wife unduly suffer, she had given her all at that point…
The two of them made an agreement, Nicole would take medication to help induce the delivery, she really had to at this point, then Nicole’s labor started to go more smoothly.
A full 48 hours after her waters had broken she was welcoming an adorable little girl into this brave world…
Then the doctor delivered the placenta too…
Then the doctor kind of froze, his eyes were like marbles, the couple we stunned by what he said next.
Facebook / Nicole Ziesemer
Doctor Megan made an announcement, she could feel a head, Nicole was only delivering twins!
It was truly a day that no one could forget at the hospital staff included!
She gave birth to a son too, named Cade, entering this world just 1 hour after his elder sister did.
Facebook / Nicole Ziesemer
Nicole needed some to recover after the birth, it really was a stressful and long birthing.
Cade had suffered from having fluid on his lungs because of complications during his birth, Blakeley was healthy and well after being born.
Facebook / Nicole Ziesemer
The proud parents said that Cade is doing really well and doesn’t need any more assistance breathing. He’s expected to leave hospital any time.
Facebook / Nicole ZiesemerNicole remembers:
“My first thought after delivering the second baby — ‘Oh crap! We need a second crib, a second car seat, a second everything’”
However, the reasoning for this big change of plans at the last minute is as good as it could really be, not all parents get a surprise like this, another baby, wow!
Facebook / Nicole Ziesemer
You can see the video below of the whole family as they realized that they were having twins!
What a magical surprise for all of them indeed, and they were able to share the magic with the whole family too!
We really hope that the family will prosper and gave great health and all move in a positive direction each and every day.
Like and share to wish them all a great future and to be happy and well!
This October is very special for one of our favorite actresses Kate Hudson who we love not only because of her remarkable acting skills, but her optimism and vibrant personality. She and partner Danny Fujikawa announced the birth of their baby daughter on the 2nd of this month.
Kate is already a mother of two handsome boys, Ryder, 14, and Bingham, 7, and this is the first girl in the family so everyone was happy for her arrival, and now that she is here everyone is thrilled to meet her.
There is no doubt that Kate will be a wonderful mother to her baby girl, as she is to her sons. And speaking of the boys, we were touched by the photos the older son posted online. It is clear that they are excited to be around their little sister.
Instagram/Kate Hudson
Hudson shared a three-slide Instagram, revealing the baby’s birth date and her name:
‘”We have decided to name our daughter Rani (pronounced Ronnie) after her grandfather, Ron Fujikawa. Ron was the most special man who we all miss dearly. To name her after him is an honor.
Everyone is doing well and happy as can be. Our family thanks you for all the love and blessings that have been sent our way and we send ours right back.”
The happy couple’s relatives and friends flocked to their home to see Rani. Her brothers expressed their joy over Rani’s arrival by holding her in their hands, singing lullabies, and looking at her with admiration which can be seen from the photos posted on Ryder’s Instagram page.
Instagram/Ryder Robinson
In Ryder, Rani will have a friend for life.
Instagram/Ryder Robinson
His excitement can be seen from adorable expressions he makes while holding the precious baby.
Instagram/Ryder Robinson
We are sure this beautiful girl will be lucky to grow up into a lady like her mother and that she will have her grandmother’s (Goldie Hawn) smile.
But before that, we hope she’ll have a wonderful childhood, surrounded with her parents and her two brothers who love her to the moon and back.
Instagram/Kate Hudson
Make sure you watch the video below for more info on Kate’s pregnancy and her life.
Compassion and empathy make the World go round and whenever we hear of people doing good deeds, our faith in humanity restores.
What the football players of Foothill High School did for their classmate Ashley Adamietz vowed the world.
This young girl who was recently diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia felt “shocked, overwhelmed, and speechless” after her classmates showed their support for Ashley. That Friday night is something she will never forget.
Ashley undergoes daily chemotherapy treatments ever since she was diagnosed, and her friends understand how horrible that is, so they make sure she knows they are by her side.
The football captain Ryan came up with the idea of all the 57 players to lay an orange rose at Ashley’s feet after the game. Orange is the color for leukemia awareness.
‘“She’s part of the Cougar family,”
Ryan said,
‘“so why not let her know that we’re all here for her. We are. So I wanted to let that be known to everybody, and especially to her, for what she’s going through.”
This act was caught on video and shared online. People from around the world who got to see the emotional moment, praised the football players.
Ashley declined the interview requests because she is undergoing treatments. However, she spoke to her coach who says she really appreciates all the support.
Joey Brown, the head football Coach said:
‘“We took care of family business before we took care of business on the field.”
When we feel that we are ready to take the ‘next step’ with someone we love, it means fully committing to that person forever, especially during rough times and difficulties. Tying the knot means having someone in our life who would be there to support us no matter what, someone who would always take our side, someone who would like and hate the same things as we do, and for the same reasons. Marriage is sacred and lucky are those who have chosen to spend their life with the right person.
Unfortunately, nowadays many couples reach for divorce even after the first obstacle they come across, but that only means they didn’t understand the true meaning of marriage.
On the other hand, there are couples like Jon and Marci Newman whose relationship and commitment to one another is something beyond beautiful and inspiring. This is their story.
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It all started when Marci learned that she had thyroid cancer. Her life turned upside down, and everyone around her was affected by her condition. She had to undergo radiation treatments that required from her to be isolated in her room. Her husband, however, couldn’t imagine spending his days without her so he did something truly amazing that made his daughter Mackenna so touched that she shared it with everyone.
Both Mackenna and her mother Marci are truly lucky to have a person like their father and husband in their life.
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He really wanted to be by his wife’s side during her tough times, so he found a way to support her without being exposed to the radiation.
“My mom has to stay in her room in isolation for her cancer radiation so my dad set up a desk at her door to keep her company and I’m crying,” Mackenna wrote on Twitter.
Once Mackenna uploaded the photo, many people shared it with their friends.
This wasn’t the first time for Jon to be doing this, actually he sits outside Marci’s room the whole time. Marci says her husband is a loving person who supports her all along.
“Jon goes to every doctor’s appointment, every blood test, every surgery, every radiation. And as you can see, if he can’t be by my side he is as close as he can get,” Marci told The Independent.
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We really hope there are more people like Jon out there who never leave their spouse’s side no matter how difficult life gets. These two are an example of what a marriage should be all about, and that’s love, devotion and never giving up.
Our prayers are with Marci.
‘‘hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness’.
Janet and Graham never gave up on their dream of becoming parents.
facebook / Kelly Connor
And as they say, good things come to those who wait. The news about the pregnancy was received with excitement and disbelief. After so much time, the Walton’s prayers were finally heard. However, the real surprise came when they were told they were about to welcome not one, not two, but six babies.
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The girls arrived in December of 1983. All of them were perfectly healthy and the delivery went as planned.
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Hannah, Ruth, Luci, Kate, Jennie and Sarah brought endless joy and happiness in the life of their parents. They were the most famous sisters in Liverpool and often caught the eye of the media who was interested to learn how this family lives.
metdaan.com
When Janet recalls the first years of the life of her miracle babies, she says how she and her husband were so busy with the kids that they barely slept. Actually, she remembers shutting their eyes for only an hour or two, and that was it. However, Janet never complained because having those girls was a dream come true.
metdaan.com
Janet says,
‘“We lived through those early years in a blur. And the only regret is that there wasn’t enough time to enjoy them as much as we’d have liked.”
Graham added,
‘“I loved those early years so much. I couldn’t say one phase was better than the others”.
metdaan.com
The girls have been very close ever since they were born. They are not only sisters, but best friends too. They always rely on each other during tough times.
metdaan.com
One of the sisters, Sarah, gave birth to an adorable baby girl in 2014, who is loved to the moon and back by her grandparents and her five aunts.
metdaan.com
Everyone is excited for the baby, and she will definitely be spoiled by all that attention she is about to receive.
‘“It flooded into me the moment I saw the pictures from her first scan”.
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Seeing the Walton’s together after such a long time is simply overwhelming.
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We hope Janet and Graham will soon become grandparents to more grandchildren who will bring additional happiness in their life.
Britain’s got talent is a show where we get to see performers of every kind. Some of them are just random people who only want to feel how it’s like to be on stage, and others wow us with their stunning skills.
During one of the episodes, a group of nine girls took the stage and the way they looked left everyone in surprise. The girls wore historical military costumes and had their hair pin-rolled. Their vocal skills were amazing and had the crowd cheering during this one of a kind performance.
They were positioned in the form of V and the visual effects only made the whole show even more spectacular.
YouTube
The girls’ group is known as The D-Day Darlings and they mainly perform classic World War II songs. This time, they chose the Vera Lynn’s song “The White Cliffs of Dover” which was originally written decades ago and made into a 1994 motion picture.
The effect was even greater with the audience waving red, blue, and white glow sticks.
YouTube
This song still evokes deep patriotic feelings at those who listen to it.
‘”I’ll never forget the people I met braving those angry skies. I remember well as the shadows fell the light of hope in their eyes. And though I’m far away I still can hear them say ‘bombs up.'”
The voices of the nine members of this unique group blend perfectly and are a real pleasure for the ear. Back in 2008, when they started performing, the group consisted of only three members. Founding member Katie has many family ties to the armed forces including her grandfather Clifford Storr who was an RAF Flight Navigator for the Lancaster Bomber.
YouTube
So far, the group has made many appearances at different historical events. At the end of their performance on Britain’s got talent they’ve prepared a real show for the judges and the audience.
Many war veterans took the stage along with the girls. They were wearing their uniforms and their presence made everyone emotional.
The applause the group and their guests on the stage received was loud and it was obvious the show they prepared was indeed one of a kind and worth the great finale.
YouTube
This is definitely a must watch! Enjoy and share it with friends.
The joy of welcoming a new baby in the family can’t be compared to any other feeling. So when Jeff and Natasha found out they will be parents soon, they couldn’t hide their happiness. Having that little creature in their life was everything they ever wanted. The two were looking forward to creating memories and spending days filled with laughter with the little one.
When their daughter finally arrived, they felt like the happiest people on Earth, until a devastating tragedy took place. Their daughter died just three weeks after she was born. Now all those plans for the future were crushed and replaced with lots of tears and sadness.
However, the anger of the tragic loss grew bigger once these parents were informed of the cause of death, and the fact that it could possibly have been prevented.
Facebook/Jeff Gober
Besides being crushed and grieving the loss of his daughter, he knew he had to take the time to share his story with the parents-to-be in hopes of preventing any other baby to share his daughter’s faith.
In an emotional (and educational) post, Jeff said:
‘”I’ve been pretty silent since Mallory’s death. It’s taken me over a month now to write this, but if any good can come from her passing and prevent someone else from experiencing the heartache, then I would be remiss not to make an effort.
If you have a new baby, or will be around a new baby, wash your hands. A lot.
If anyone wants to hold your baby, make sure they wash their hands first. Then make them do it again…”
Facebook/Jeff Gober
‘”HSV-1, most commonly known as the virus behind cold sores, is a form of herpes (Herpes Simplex Virus-1). It is EXTREMELY common, and the World Health Organization estimates that 67% of all humans on Earth are infected. To make things worse, many people who are infected will never show symptoms in their lifetime and probably don’t even know they have it. For newborns, it is more than likely fatal, as was the case for Mallory.
You might think it should have been easy to diagnose. Surely someone with an oozing cold sore kissed her on the mouth, right? Mallory was never in contact with a person who had an active cold sore. Never. Nobody ever kissed her on the mouth. In spite of that, she caught HSV-1 within her first week of life and we had to watch her die slowly for nearly 2 weeks. Mallory could not keep her hands out of her mouth and eyes and she was constantly sucking on her fingers [see picture above]], so it’s almost certain that the virus got onto her hands at some point. It is possible to be contagious even without an active cold sore.
She had no symptoms beyond a high fever for most of the first week, and by the time blisters showed up it was probably too late for the antivirals to be effective. Considering that more than half the world has the cold sore virus, we don’t understand why so few infants die from the disease or why our beautiful daughter Mallory was the unlucky statistic, but that’s the way the world works I suppose.
Please, if you’re reading this, be extra diligent about washing your hands around newborns. Statistically speaking, you’re probably infected with HSV-1 whether you know it or not.”
Please remember to always wash your hands before touching a newborn baby. This father wants to spread the word of the consequences of not doing so.
Facebook/Jeff Gober
We hope Jeff and Natasha will get the chance of becoming parents soon.
Please share their story with your friends.
This October is very special for one of our favorite actresses Kate Hudson who we love not only because of her remarkable acting skills, but her optimism and vibrant personality. She and partner Danny Fujikawa announced the birth of their baby daughter on the 2nd of this month.
Kate is already a mother of two handsome boys, Ryder, 14, and Bingham, 7, and this is the first girl in the family so everyone was happy for her arrival, and now that she is here everyone is thrilled to meet her.
There is no doubt that Kate will be a wonderful mother to her baby girl, as she is to her sons. And speaking of the boys, we were touched by the photos the older son posted online. It is clear that they are excited to be around their little sister.
