Pamela De Almeida has a child with Down Syndrome. For some reason, people treat her differently because of her toddler’s condition. She’s not okay with the stares, the side conversations and the shifting gazes going from one child to another. This has been something she’s had to deal with. in fact, being treated differently by others has become part of her normality, unfortunately.
She was surprised by a couple’s reaction at a coffee shop one day. They didn’t respond as others had to her sweet baby girl. Pamela recounted the event on her blog, “Slice of Life.”
Her blog is: “Dedicated to capturing my perfectly imperfect life of raising two daughters; one who was born with Down Syndrome. This is my journey unscripted and unfiltered through journalistic photography and written thoughts.”
On this particular day, Pamela shows us her day: “I sat in Tim Horton’s with my daughter’s as I do often. Two ladies sitting near us started to stare and whisper. This is a pretty frequent occurrence for us you see; because my daughter Sophia was born with Down Syndrome. I sat there and watched these two women crane their necks to get a better look at her; completely oblivious to the fact that I was staring right back.
“Today it bothered me. It really bothered me.
“Just then, a couple approached me, and I thought, “Oh great! More people who want to take a closer look!
“The man greeted Sophia with a high five and a handshake, and Sophia smiled and waved back. He looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, “I have a story I would really like to share with you. But I am afraid I won’t get through it without choking up.” I gently encouraged him to share, because now I was curious. This interaction was not what I was expecting.
“He told me that he had watched the news last night. There was an interview with a mother who had recently given birth to a child with a major disability. She was on the news defending her decision to keep her baby. She was defending her choice NOT to terminate despite her doctors encouraging her to do so.
“He said, “The point is, you never know a person’s impact on the world. You can never know what a person is able to do unless you give them a chance.”
“He looked at me just before he turned to walk away and said, “You are a beautiful person. Your daughter is beautiful. Congratulations!”
“I immediately started to cry. There I sat in the middle of a coffee shop crying into a paper napkin. That man was the first complete stranger to ever congratulate me on the birth of my daughter Sophia. He was the first complete stranger to recognize her WORTH. Her VALUE. Her BEAUTY.
“In a world where my daughter’s life is whispered about, where she is stared at, this man saw her IMPORTANCE.
“What a wonderful reminder that every human being, no matter how small, has true worth and value. Let’s encourage ourselves and those around us to recognize everyone’s unique beauty every day.”
Yes, let’s not take for granted the pure beauty around us. Everyone is a gift, a treasure to be cherished and cared for.
