valentine's day On a serious tip...

I just found out last night that a friend from high school and his wife's 7 month old son has been diagnosed with Down's Syndrome.

My friend is a Captain in the USMC and his wife is a SAHM with 2 adorable lil boys, they are stationed out west. And my heart goes out to them. I will admit that I saw pictures of the youngest boy a couple of months ago on their Facebook pages, and seriously questioned whether he had been diagnosed or not. It appears that he wasn't diagnosed by the doctors at the military hospital initially, the couple questioned it and the Dr. didn't see any issues. Until their 7 month appointment, he requested the tests be run. He is an otherwise healthy and very happy baby boy, but now they're left wondering and worrying about the next steps.

They want to absorb as much information about the disorder and needed therapy as possible. They are a wonderful young couple with an incredible faith. I know they will overcome any and all obstacles that this may cause, but I'm reaching out to you all for any information that I can pass along to them.

On the opposite side of this conversation, while my aunt and uncle were pregnant with my cousin the Dr. told them that she had Down's. My cousin was born, and while she appeared slightly to have the facial characteristics of a child with the syndrome, those soon passed. I'm very happy to report that she is now 24 years old and working toward a Ph.D., very far from any learning disability.