Compatible With Joy-Trisomy18: Birthday Party!

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Birthday Party!

This is short on words but long on pictures. Also, long on love and hope and happiness. Three things no one can live without.

We had people who came from across the street, and from a few states away. My sister and parents drove up from Arizona, and a former nurse drove in from Portland. There was T18 mommy who came from northern Utah and other special needs moms from around here. Lots and lots of friends, representing just a fraction of the prayers that have gone up to heaven in his behalf over the past two-plus years. We are grateful for all of them.

Getting cleaned up for my party.

Not sure about this water thing, but as long as I
can chew on my hands, it's okay.

Balloons for angel babies and others fighting to stay alive.

Party Time!

Balloon Release

Cake Time!

Happy Birthday, Little Man
And many, many more...

And thou shalt ^arejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the ^bstranger that is among you.

Deuteronomy 26:11

1 comment:

UnknownJune 14, 2012 at 9:32 PM
It looks like the party was a hit! Wish we could have been there. I like to think about all of the places those balloons will see and go - places in which we only hope our little ones can have adventures someday.
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What is Trisomy 18?

Trisomy 18, also known as Edwards syndrome, is where a child has three of the 18th chromosome. Most people have two of each chromosome, one from mom and one from dad. In a trisomy, the child gets two of one chromosome from one parent and one from the other. Think tricycle, three.

Imagine if you made a batch of cookies and it called for two cups of sugar. Sugar is good, it's necessary for the cookies to turn out the way you expect them to. But instead, you put in three cups. You then proceed to mix and bake the cookies.

They're not going to be the way you expect, and it's the same way for that extra chromosome. Our bodies don't "read" the code well when there's an extra portion added in, and it causes all kinds of complications.

But just like "typical" children, there is a wide range of abilities and challenges for children with a trisomy. Many of the anomolies occur along the mid-line: the brain, the mouth (cleft lips and palates) the heart, lungs, diaphragm, and kidneys. Some are more severe than others.

Each child is unique, each is special. I like to use the sugar in my analogy because each one child is so sweet. In our home, we say that the 18th chromosome holds the secret to love. Aaron got an extra love chromosome, and he uses it to bless our lives.

Compatible With Joy-Trisomy18

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