Does anyone here have a Down's child?

[Canaday]

My oldest child, age 3 years and 4 months, has Down's syndrome. His main medical problem was atrial septal defect (a small hole, not large) which was corrected surgically shortly after birth. He is doing very well and we have had him enrolled at a wonderful therapy clinic. He has only mild retardation and is an extremely observant and adaptable child and is making very good progress. He is a joy to us, so affectionate and loving for such a little guy, and he just loves to cuddle.

Does anyone else here have a Down's child?

[kerryms]

I don't have a Down's child,but I know a few of them. They are God's gift to us in that they spread love and joy to everyone.The one I have known for awhile is the same age I am,47! He remembers everything,has a good sense of humor and yes he to gives the best hugs in the world.

[StephiLou]

Hello! My son is 4 1/2 and he has DS as well.

He also had a heart defect, however it sounds like his was a little more involved. He had no septum at all to have any holes in. They had to build the 4 chambers and "make" a mitral and tricuspid valve. He's had 2 open hearts so far, and will probably need more in the future.

He has quite a few other medical problems. We were told at one time not to bother with him (that's how the quack put it), he was going to be a vegetable. ::) ::)

Christopher is quite a bit delayed right now, but we are now being told that they think it was because his first 3 years were so traumatic. He was sick all of the time. Now we are catching up - of course on his own agenda! Luckily, we have some really great therapists through the school right now, who realize that he knows a lot more than what he tries to let on. Otherwise he wouldn't be able to do EXACTLY the opposite of what you ask! LOL!

He has a website. Anybody here can come visit. You will have to register, just because this site deals with so much medical info. They don't sell your address or anything.

www.carepages.com His care page name is "OurLIttleMan" without the quotes.

I look forward to hearing more from you, if you would like. Feel free to PM me anytime. If you are in the Midwest, I can give you names of some great docs.

Also, there is a study you might be interested in signing him up for. It is at KennedyKreiger. They are need 400 DS children with heart defects, and 400 without. All you have to do is fill out a form and send an x-ray. They are studying the 21st chromosome and trying to find which part of it affect the formation of the heart.

Steph