Saturday, March 10, 2012

Flying Off the Radar

Let me begin with one of our usual posts ... the girls are doing amazing!  Maria and I just purchased a new camera so that we can capture all of the girls' amazing moments.  It's a really nice Canon camera which you can attach different lenses to and that sort of thing.  Tonight we took 100 pictures just messing around with the girls.  It's actually kind of ridiculous.  In a way it's really weird as well.  All of my youth I grew up with a camera in my face thanks to my loving mother.  I always said that I would never do that or take as many pictures as she does. Now look at me, photo expert starting day 1!

New developments at school.  I have recruited several athletes at our high school to form a group called "The Wildcat Buddies".  We spend time doing crafts, playing games, and eating lunch with the students in the special education classroom.  (Even typing "special education classroom" somehow seems wrong.  There's gotta be a better way to say it.)  So far I'm loving it and I believe the students are really bonding and having a great time.


NOW... to the whole thing that drove me to write this post and fly off the radar for a bit.  Somehow I have missed the coverage in the news about a lawsuit case taking place out in Oregon.  In a short and rough synopsis a couple (Ariel and Deborah Levy) filed a "wrongful birth" suit against a hospital.  Apparently they didn't do the test appropriately to determine the odds of the child having Down Syndrome.  Since the test came back negative they had the child.  The couple said had the test come back positive they would have aborted the child.  So they sued for the $3 Million to cover the extra costs of caring for their daughter.  ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?! I completely understand that there is a malpractice situation involved.  I agree with that completely but don't drag your child into it.  Think about it.  That little girl will grow up for the rest of her life knowing that her mommy and daddy didn't really want her because she's different.

I'm so angry and my heart is beating fast just typing this post.  It's ignorant people like this that make me want to do amazing things. Sure Maria and I had to face those thoughts and deal with our emotions when we found out that Lorelei had a 1 in 16 chance of having Downs.  But we did it and have realized that no matter what Lorelei can or can't do she is and will be an amazing person.  She has already at only 1 year old changed people's perceptions of what babies with Down Syndrome or any other disability can accomplish.   People like this couple will be the driving force in my becoming an advocate for Down Syndrome and other disabilities.  I want to show the world that Lorelei is not a burden.  She is not a punishment to Maria and I because God is mad at us.  She is the total opposite.  She is an amazing blessing that strengthens us.  God chose Maria and I to be in this situation for a reason. He did it because we are strong enough and loving enough.  We will make a difference not just in Lorelei and Mikaela's lives but in a larger arena.With her help this family will be stronger and I plan on carrying that strength to others.  So in the end thank you Levy family. Thank you for being so heartless and exemplifying the fears of apparently 90% of the females that get positive Down Syndrome tests back.  You have reinforced my drive to make a much larger difference and do amazing things in these children's lives.


Again, sorry for flying off the radar for a bit.
And ... I love my wife!