Squeals and Laughter

It's moments like this that I love to replay. It is at this instance that I can put aside all my concerns with challenges we would face together with Matthew as we travel this road. Challenges like potholes that lay on the road ahead, some we may avoid and some we may not.

I wonder if he will be spared from developing leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. Research states that individuals with Down syndrome are at a higher risk for leukemia - 10 to 30 times more often than in those without Down syndrome. We were lucky that he didn't need open heart surgery when he was born as he did not have any major heart defects. Almost half of babies with Down syndrome have heart defects, according to information put together by the March of Dimes.

I wonder how well Matthew will socialize with school classmates or kids his age and if he will have good friends at school.

I wonder how clear Matthew's speech will be when he's an adult and how well he will be able to express himself without needing someone to intervene or assist.

I wonder how independent Matthew will be as an adult. Of course, we will do everything we can to steer him towards independent living but I think we can only do so much. The rest will be up to him, right?

I wonder about so many things in Matthew's life. It seems the list only gets longer with time.

It's good to think about what may lie ahead. But why be constantly concerned especially if we haven't come up to that pothole yet? For now, I will delight in the squeals and laughter of moments like this.