{Bella & Darlene's Story continued.....}
Even though Bella was delivered via emergency c-section, we thought the worst part was over. Relief overflowed as I sat waiting in the recovery room waiting to come off of the anesthesia. I remember feeling doozy but at the same time so alive and high, just really genuinely high on life!
The highest high I had ever felt in my life.
As I laid there by myself waiting for my husband or baby to join my side, I laid there and tried to let everything sink in and all that was happening around me.
And then, my husband came into the recovery room to join me and told me something I could never forget and took more than just my breath away.
“The doctor says Bella has Down Syndrome,” is what Alex said.
At that very moment, we went from feeling the utmost high to the lowest of all lows. We both just cried… and cried some more… We didn't know how to deal with having a special needs child. We were both 21-years old and naive as can be. We thought everything was going to be perfect. We already had huge plans for our daughter. The moment we became parents our top priority changed. There was a new person who meant more to us now than ourselves. The only other kind of person who conquered our heart, the #1 spot and that was our child, Bella Mia…
We were aware that she would entail a little extra special attention, a little extra love, nevertheless, the important thing is that she has a little extra instilled in herself. A little extra enthusiasm to life, a little extra innocence, a little extra charm and of course a little extra chromosome of the 21st pair that inspires so much fear in parents-to-be.
Fast forward five years later…
Raising a child with Down syndrome has brought significant changes to our life as well as immense perspective. Bella has helped us see there’s an infinitely more to life than intelligence, beauty and what we perceive perfection to be. I don’t know anyone else who holds as much love as Bella does. She is truly a gift from God. She has inspired me to not be fearful and chase after what I believe in. I now know that Bella was a huge part of God’s plan. Even though she cannot speak I hear it, I feel it and I see it. I hear her tell me she loves me through the noises she makes, I feel it with the hugs she gives me and I even see it in the twinkle of her eyes.
Bella is a Kindergartener who enjoys going to school on the bus every morning and participating in circle time. Although she is non-verbal and has a really hard time communicating, she still shows the most love. She has always been a humongous cuddle bug. And, she will surprise you when she steals your iPhone, swipes it on, finds YouTube and will even get Elmo playing. Hahahaha.
I started blogging to document some important milestones. And, it honestly took off from there. Since I got into reading other mom blogs, I noticed I never came across special needs moms or special needs parenting. So, I took it from there. I saw a need and told myself I would passionately seek it because I can’t be the only person out there looking for this type of connection, relation and therapy.
As touchy as it may be, it truly is therapeutic for me to write about this stuff. What started off as a support group on Facebook that I titled, “A Little Xtra” evolved into a website with a blog sharing my experience as a mom raising a special needs child. And then a powerful podcast emerged all about the special needs community, which has now become a movement. I make no money doing this. I actually lose money. But it’s not about the money.
It’s about filling the void and spreading awareness because one flicker of a light switch in someone else’s thoughts can trigger a dark mind to be bright. You never know when that “light-bulb” moment of inspiration can happen in someone. I hope to be able to bring various topics to the table so that my audience doesn't feel alone. And so that others who may not know much about living with special needs can gain some valuable perspective and motivate them to do more with their abilities, not disabilities.
And so friends, whether you’re religious, spiritual or scientific, it doesn't matter because we still can relate on many other levels. I tend to live by several principles, the main one being The Golden Rule,
“Do unto others as you would want others to do unto you.”
It means so much to me because I believe what goes around, comes around. And, I don’t know, I just like people. I challenge myself to be as open-minded as I can be, so that I may be prone to understanding new ways of life that I may benefit from or better yet; help someone else benefit from. And as negative as this motto sounds, I always remind myself that things could always be worse and to find the hope in everything because hope keeps you going. No matter how severe of a situation you are dealing with, I feel it’s important to remind yourself why you do what you do.
As I mentioned before, I know Bella was given to me for a reason. Everybody has a calling in life, we all are made for something. Your real job in life is to figure out what that is and get to it! We are what we think and what we do. I will always be grateful for the cards that have been dealt to me. But I’m especially grateful that I allowed myself the chance to recognize it with a tolerant mind. There is no greater love for my children and I will forever in my heart do what I can for my babies.
{About Darlene}
Please contact me if you’d like to share your story. You may reach me anytime @Darlasworld86 on every social media site out there.
To follow our journey with “A Little Xtra” please follow us @alittlextra21 on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, You Tube, Google +, Vine, Soundcloud, etc.
(Ay! This is turning into a paragraph on it’s own! Lol)
(Ay! This is turning into a paragraph on it’s own! Lol)
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