After difficulties conceiving and a failed round of IVF, Jessica Egan and her husband had been all over the place when they learned they were pregnant. However, 11 weeks into their parenting journey, a blood test revealed that the little girl growing inside Jessica was positive for Trisomy 21. Down syndrome.
Image credits: Jessica Young Egan
Image credits: oursweetgwendolyn
“At that moment I felt extreme devastation,” Jessica told Mamamia. “All I could think when I received the diagnosis was that my baby wouldn’t be as accepted and celebrated as everyone else’s had been. From three sets of twins to Down syndrome?… I spent the next three days at home in tears, afraid to tell anyone the news.”
But as time went by, things began to change. Jessica and her husband contacted their local Down syndrome foundation and started educating themselves about the diagnosis that roughly 1 in every 700 babies are born with. The exact number varies depending on the region, though. For example, as Down Syndrome Australia notes, the number is closer to 1 in 1,100 babies in their area.
Image credits: oursweetgwendolyn
Image credits: oursweetgwendolyn
“We began to realize that Down syndrome was nothing to fear, and when our baby [Gwendolyn] was born, we were overwhelmed with love for her.” After spending two months raising their precious little daughter, Jessica wrote an incredibly sincere ‘review’ of her and posted it to Facebook.
Image credits: Jessica Young Egan
“When I placed my order I said, ‘Regular amount of chromosomes, please!’ That’s what everyone else got and what I wanted too,” Jessica wrote. “They called me shortly after my order was in production and said ‘Great news, we went ahead and upgraded you to extra chromosomes for free! You’ll receive the extra chromosomes with your completed order in 9 months.’ What?! I was mad!”
Image credits: oursweetgwendolyn
“All the other orders I had seen displayed via perfect Instagram posts did NOT have extra chromosomes. Well, I decided that receiving my order with extra chromosomes was better than not receiving an order at all, so I settled in to wait for this surprise upgrade to arrive. I have now had my order for two months and am writing this review to let others know the upgrade to extra chromosomes is amazing!! If offered, definitely take it! I posted some photos below of the finished product and you can see the extra chromosome is so worth it – it is extra cute, extra special, and extra-ordinary! So much extra joy. Would purchase again for sure.”
Image credits: oursweetgwendolyn
Image credits: Jessica Young Egan
Her post has already received over 347,000 likes.”The feedback has been so full of positivity, love, and acceptance that it is overwhelming. I have heard from multiple people who also recently have had a baby with Down Syndrome but are still coming to terms with it and have been in a very dark place. Hearing that my post touched them so completely and helped heal them is humbling, and truly something I will honor for the rest of my life,” the mother said.
Image credits: oursweetgwendolyn
Image credits: Jessica Young Egan
Image credits: oursweetgwendolyn
“I hope people find comfort from my post, but I also hope that people who have no experience with Down syndrome or other chromosomal abnormalities will have their minds and hearts opened. To realise that it’s okay for people to be different, and that it’s okay to cherish life even if it doesn’t fit in the typical boxes we have created – that’s all I could ever ask for.”
Image credits: oursweetgwendolyn
Image credits: oursweetgwendolyn
Image credits: oursweetgwendolyn
Image credits: oursweetgwendolyn
Image credits: oursweetgwendolyn
Image credits: Jessica Young Egan
Image credits: Jessica Young Egan
Image credits: Jessica Young Egan
Image credits: Jessica Young Egan
Image credits: Jessica Young Egan
Image credits: oursweetgwendolyn
People have been relating to Jessica’s words in the sweetest ways
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