Looking past an extra chromosome

Austin's blood work came back pretty normal, with the allergy globulins a little over the normal range but not much.  After doing some reading, I decided to try to cut back on the dairy in his diet over the next month and see if it makes a difference.  I read a couple of different articles from professional nutritionists and pulled what I thought might work.

One nutritionist discussed a coorelation with ear infections and children with Austism.  Austin clearly does not have Autism, but I was intriqued to read on.  This nutritionist also discussed the recent concern of some over vaccines that are given to babies.  She believes that these vaccines can interact with the body and cause the body to fight against itself.  I'm not a scientist, but I just have a problem with the idea that these vaccines can cause cognitive delays or even Autism.  I think that children are made the way that God created them, whether they have Down syndrome, Autism, or struggle with ear infections.  A few years back, a doctor published this vaccine theory in a medical journal, and parents everywhere paniced.  But now, the journal that published that doctor's theory says the entire theory was a scam, and they have removed it from their medical journal.  Wakefield, the doctor who developed this theory, has lost his liscense since he published this idea in the late 90s.

Today, a friend asked my husband how Austin was doing.  After no mention of the subject, this friend said that she thinks kids get too many vaccines nowadays.  When I heard that, a thought hit me. 

That thought was that people really don't get it, and maybe they never will. 

I certainly don't think that the world is against us, and I know that everyone we come in contact with loves Kamdyn.  And that is so important to me, that they love Kamdyn.  But the truth of it is that while they love Kamdyn, they are still afraid of the differences that come along with her.  To them, their worst fear is Down syndrome, Autism, or any other thing that would shatter their perfect world.  I really can't hold it against them, because I was in their place.

Even though I understand their fear, it still makes me so sad.  Will the world always view disabilities as a problem that needs to be fixed?  Will they ever celebrate differences?  Will they ever see past Kamdyn's almond eyes, her flat bridged forehead, her extra chromosome?  Will they ever really see her?  While the optimistic part of me thinks that it is possible, my heart aches to think that maybe people just aren't capable of seeing past all of that to really see Kamdyn.

I can say without reservation that when I look into Kamdyn's eyes, I don't see Down syndrome anymore.  It is only recently that I have been able to do that.  So when I look at her now, and I can just see my child, Kamdyn.  It is freeing.  Freeing in the your not gonna hold me down, your not gonna break me, your not gonna dampen my enthusiasm, steal my joy, or shadow my love kind of freeing.  It is letting go of a weight that will not weigh me down anymore.

We've had some snow here over the last couple of weeks.  Brad doesn't appreciate waking up on a frigid, cold mornings to scrape the car off every couple of days.  But it is nice to get snow without being trapped in the house for days.

While we explored our white, snowy world, Kamdyn stayed inside, warm and cozy.