Parent Outreach

"Why is Melissa posting in the middle of the day?" is what you might be asking yourself. No, I am not skipping work; I'm simply taking an extended lunch hour today. The wives of Patrick's classmates and I decided that the boys need some good home-cooked meals during their insane work hours, so it's my turn to bring a meal. The Italian dish is warming up as I type.

We have exciting news! Pam, the director of the Goldman School (Luke's Daycare), contacted me a few weeks ago about possibly doing Parent Outreach as new parents receive the news that their son or daughter has a disability. I gladly volunteered because my defining emotional moment in the hospital was after I was visited by a mom whose daughter who has DS (I think I've mentioned her visit before on the blog).  After I heard her talk about her daughter's friends, schooling, and extracurricular activities, I realized that Luke would be just a normal kid who maybe will need a bit of extra help along the way....... Well...... today, the Parent Outreach coordinator, Monica, called me with my first family! A new mom received the Down Syndrome diagnosis after the results of her Quad Screening which is done about 1/2 way through pregnancy (My results had come back negative, which is why we didn't know Luke had DS until after birth), and she has all of the same questions that I originally had so she has asked to speak with me.  Hopefully, she'll see what a happy little baby Luke is, get her questions answered, and realize that things really will be okay.