The Emiliano Series 3/10: Darwin, Dad

(THE EMILIANO SERIES 3/10: Darwin, Dad)

I never imagined loving someone as much as I love Emiliano. Truthfully, I never imagined he would become the most influential person in my life. From the day he was born he demonstrated his warrior spirit, but that day was terrifying. 

At first, I was overwhelmed with feelings of ecstasy and bliss as I witnessed my first son being born. Then, in a blink of an eye, those feelings of ecstasy turned into feelings of anxiety and worry. “Emi” was having trouble breathing but he never gave up. He pushed through and eventually built up enough strength to be able to breathe and eat on his own. Little did I know this was just the start of the many great things he would do. 

Since then, Emiliano has proved the genetic counselors wrong as he can feed himself when they said he wouldn’t be able to. Emiliano’s contagious smile reminds me every morning to choose happiness and to be grateful. Emi always emanates pure love and joy and can cheer up even the saddest person on their worst day. 

I am extremely proud of my son. I am proud of his ability to change people’s lives in a positive way. He consistently surprises us with his cleverness and wit. What a joy it is to see him continuously crush his physical therapy sessions. 

If I had one wish, it would be for him to forever be the happy child that he is today. The presumption of people born with Down Syndrome having a less fulfilling life needs to be dismissed. Emiliano is a great example that people with Down syndrome can accomplish whatever they want to, as long as they are surrounded by a great community.

#TheLuckyFew #TheLuckyFewFoundation #DownSyndrome #ThisIsDownSyndrome