31 for 21: Day 13 Is that because of their Down Syndrome?

OOPS, I missed my first day. Not bad considering I've suffered with a terrible flu or cold or whatever it was for the past 7 days, and still have terrible congestion and coughing going on. Enough Excuses.

So yesterday we went to Pittsburgh for a Pulmonology appointment. We go for a visit every 6 months. The twins have been diagnosed with asthma and we usually have long rough winters dealing with colds, bronchitis, pneumonia, and lots of breathing treatments. Because of this we always start taking Singular and Flovent from October to April every year to help steer us away from breathing issues. On our way there Caleb started acting a little fussy and I was hoping he was not getting what I'm recovering from. The Doc listened to him and sure enough, he's wheezing..UGH so not only do we get to start Singular and Flovent, now we're giving albuterol treatments this week. Let's hope its just a cold and nothing else.

One thing I should have done over the past four years I wished I would have done, just to know kinda thing is record doctors visits in a log book. I know we have made more visits to Pittsburgh in the past four years that I have in my entire life. (And thats even with me going to college in Pittsburgh and coming home often) We have had more than our share of visits to Childrens Hospital. Is that because of Down Syndrome? not entirely.

That is one question people ask me all the time. Is that because of their Down Syndrome? The asthma, banging their heads with their fists all the time, swinging and chewing on socks, their picky appetites, I don't know I've lost count of what all that's been asked about. The answer is more often than not NO. Every kid with Down Syndrome is not the same as any other. The only thing that every kid with Down Syndrome has is an extra 21st chromosome. Just like other kids who have asthma don't have it just because they are typical kids. Its not a question that offends me, just kinda makes me laugh that people pair having Down Syndrome together with all the bad stuff.

My kids with Down Syndrome are more like my typical children than they are given credit for. It may take them a little longer to get to that point, but they get there. They get frustrated, they pull hair, they take toys away from each other, they laugh, they hug, they love to kiss, they have very defining personalities, they give me more joy than I could have possibly thought I was capable of at one time in my life.