Making a difference!

I spend a lot of time advocating for babies and children with Down syndrome and congenital heart defects. Recently, on a popular website forum, a woman wrote about how she would terminate her pregnancy if she received a Down syndrome diagnosis. Her reasoning was that she and her husband work full time and also love to travel. She said it would be too "overwhelming" for them to care for a child with special needs. When I started reading through the responses, I almost cried. People were responding to her by quoting me. Many of them had read Gabby's story and my many posts about Down syndrome and prenatal testing. They were telling the woman about Gabby and about what a blessing Gabby had been to so many people. They were also telling how they'd learned about prenatal testing from the info I'd shared. Many of their misconceptions had been clarified. I got chills as I read over the responses. It is quite amazing to see God take the seeds one plants and make them grow into something beautiful. I wasn't sure if the things I'd written had even registered with some of these women. Now, I know. I even had one woman who sent me a message last week in response to reading Gabby's story. She wrote:


"It impacted me in a way that I have never thought of the whole "I'd rather have her for a while than not at all" thing. My husband and I always discussed that if a child can't have a fulfilling life due to DS or anything like that, we would terminate the pregnancy. After hearing your story, i don't honestly think I could do it. My husband said something about how it isn't fair to the child, which, sure, I understand, but it's not fair to not give them a chance at ANY life because of the fear of taking responsibility for the life with or without complications. Little Gabby didn't know she was any different, and she enjoyed life just as any other child would. You are such a strong woman, and Gabby really has made a difference. Gabby has made me really question if it would be right to terminate a pregnancy based on something the child couldn't control. it just doesn't seem fair to me. Thank you so much for sharing your story; I never thought it would impact me the way it has. It makes me wonder "what if" and I don't think i will opt for the pre-screenings that my doc has offered...I don't think it would make a difference in my decision and no matter what, i would never love my child any less because of something like that; I would love them MORE. Children with needs like that NEED all the love in the world. Again, thank you so much. "


Advocating isn't an easy thing to do. On a daily basis, I encounter women who have or are getting ready to abort their baby because of Down syndrome. It rips my heart into shreds. One woman even told me that I had made Gabby suffer since I did not abort her while I was pregnant. Encounters where I hear things like that make me physically sick. But if I avoid those encounters, I also avoid a chance to make a difference. So, I rely on God to help me stomach the heartbreaking stories and continue sharing what He has given me to share. Gabby, we ARE making a difference, baby girl.