Day 29: Down syndrome Awareness Month GROWING UP The following post is from my friend Amanda Foster Cosenza. Her story is about her brother Casey who has Ds. The Fosters just recently celebrated Caseys 30th Birthday! Happy Birthday Casey! You are loved! This month is Down Syndrome Awareness Month. My friend Lisa Bagby Schuh has been celebrating the month by asking friends to post about their connection to DS. Here is what I wrote. I was in 3rd grade when my brother, Casey, was born with DS. He was the fourth child born in our family. I remember it being a difficult time. My mom did not have an easy delivery/recovery which made the situation harder. She had a 6th grader, 3rd grader, and 1st grader at home already too! My mom was 34 years old (back then it was considered older to have a child*:-O surprise). She did not know Casey had DS until he was born. It was a different time when he was born. My parents were given information on homes for Casey at the hospital. That was never a consideration for my parents, Casey was instantly a permanent part of our family. Besides a small hole in his heart that is now healed, he was and has been very healthy. Our childhood was normal. I lived on a farm. School, sports, 4-H, and lazy summers are what I remember the most. I also remember Casey being 100% a part of that mix. He did not participate in everything but he was there. I remember him doing sign language at sibling basketball games (since his speech was slower to develop and he got frustrated when we didnt know what he wanted or was trying to say). He went to school like us too. Thank goodness my mom had her degree in Education! She was and continues to be so patient with Casey yet she was instrumental in pushing for his achievements at the public school. Not all teachers or parents were excited for Casey to be in the class (Most, but not all). However, most all the kids were so wonderful to him! Casey graduated high school with tons of friends. Everyone in the county knew him! His high school graduation party was packed! He still participates in Special Olympics track and bowling. He lives at home with my parents. He is a HUGE Colts fan and Purdue fan (He has been known to change jerseys/outfits in the middle of the day to support different games that are on!). He is like Dustin Hoffman off of the movie Rain Man with his statistics knowledge. He believes that his team is going to win even in the last minute, he doesnt give up hope. He LOVES his family. He lives for his nieces and nephews. (Especially buying their birthday theme card/gift bags/gift!) Casey lives for celebrations and parties. We celebrate his 30th birthday in December and he is sooo excited! He has an iPhone that I send him photos and messages on often. So fun! He has a a great since of humor too! I struggled writing this because I didnt know what to write BUT I wanted to support Lisa and give everyone a DS sibling perspective. I have met and known many people with DS. I think the most successful and independent people with DS have family and friends that are loving and supportive, caring siblings, and arent treated like they are disabled. But really couldnt this describe what everyone needs? Sometimes the best things in life are the unplanned. Teagan picked a perfect family! She is lucky to have a strong team of friends and family! She is also lucky to have Gigis Playhouse too. We had nothing like that by us. We lived in a small area too so there were only a couple kids with DS in the school system. Teagan is lucky to have other friends with DS so close. I wish my mom had more of a support team of other DS moms with her, especially while Casey was in school. So excited to see all of the changes in the schools as well as companies using kids with DS in their advertisements! Thank you Amanda! Below are some photos of Casey with his family:
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 14:24:45 +0000
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