This I Believe, on NPR

My new online acquaintance, Nicole, has this link on her blog. It is a rather sweet story from a Dad. Though we didn't have a prenatal diagnosis, we went through the same uncertainties. Hannah was about 8 hours old when the pediatrician came and told me that he suspected Down syndrome. Receiving an unexpected diagnosis is difficult, but we soon had to put it aside, since Hannah developed oxygenation problems within a couple hours. She became critically ill with pulmonary hypertension; Down syndrome was the least of our worries for her. We moved past the developmental concerns very quickly, and focused on getting her to LIVE. She fought hard, and with many prayers, she survived. We finally got to bring her home after nearly a month.

Five days old

Certainly any doubts we had about raising Hannah are long gone--it's not always easy, but there is an unexpected joy that comes with the challenges.


It's literally been a roller coaster, but it's fun, even when it's a little bit scary.