Ezer Mizion reaching out to hold their hands
Shimmy continues his story of coming to terms with the fact that they are now parents of two Downs babies.One of the members of the professional staff succeeded in touching the parents’ hearts when she shared her personal experience with them. “She came over and told me that she herself is raising a child with Down syndrome,” relates Shimmy. “She told us that the baby had been left in the ward; his parents couldn’t raise him and they abandoned him in the hospital. ‘You don’t know what a treasure they lost,’ she told them. ‘He is such a lovable and loving child. Thanks to him, my life changed —for the better! If his parents would have known what they are missing, they wouldn’t have considered leaving him. They certainly would have done everything so that he could stay with them.’‘As she was talking, another professional came over and teasingly informed me: ‘Speak to your wife; I want to take them for myself…’ And he wasn’t the only one. It’s true that we had been in shock,” he laughs, “but it never entered our minds to leave our children in the hospital. To those who suggested it, I made quite clear that this idea was not an option. All we needed was to understand what’s going on here and what we need to do from now on.“We came home with two sweet little angels. No one will take the zechut (merit) away from us and, yes, at that stage we understood very well, too, that no one will take from us the chovah — the responsibility of raising these angels. In those days, we were most concerned by the chovah. We never could have managed without Ezer Mizion with their myriad of programs ranging from respite care to guidance in so many areas, from trips to a caring shoulder to lean on when the going got rough. Today we see only the privilege and the joy and look forward to sharing that joy with Ezer Mizion as we become familiar with their many programs for older children like clubs and summer camp. “Children with Down syndrome are warm, loving children, who return so much love that they are irresistible. Today I think that even a heart of stone would melt in the face of the warmth they radiate. From one day to the next, we fell in love with them more and more and more. We became attached to them to a degree that cannot be captured in words.”At this opportunity, he wants to convey an important message to parents wherever they may be:“Every parent has his own difficulties with children, particularly when they are Down syndrome. It’s not easy and many people have a hard time accepting them with love. But I want to tell you one thing: It’s all worth it. In a big way!” to be continued
