I found this fact and was stunned. That means that this person lived around 517 BC, long before the doctor, John Langdon Down categorized the features associated with Trisomy 21.  The interesting thing I found about this fact was that the archeologists involved noted that the burial of this child (believed to be 7-9 years old) was done in the exact same manner as the other bones found during the same dig.  The conclusion that let the archeologists to was that there was not a stigma attached to this child and this child was treated similarly to all of the other individuals buried ceremoniously at that site. Read the story here.

When you search Google for Trisomy disorders there is so much information, most of it devastating.  There are 3 relatively common genetic disorders being Trisomy 13, 18, and 21.  Trisomy 21- Down Syndrome is the one most of us know well because it is the most compatible with life.  Though there are children with Trisomy 13- Patau Syndrome and Trisomy 18- Edward Syndrome, who are living, there are often far more complications with their health than those born with Down Syndrome.

When I started sharing Cedar’s story on social media I was closely following another mama who was pregnant and testing showed that her child would likely have a genetic disorder.  Her blog posts kept me in tears as each week progressed until one day she delivered a beautiful little girl, who was diagnosed at birth with Trisomy 13.  Just the little difference of where on the gene map that extra genetic material shows up can often mean the difference between life and death.  So sadly, that mama had to say goodbye to her sweet babe on day 3 of life.  It is situations such as this that leave me realizing that we each need to be thankful for what we are given.

So many moms that I have encountered who receive a prenatal diagnosis of Down Syndrome express a worry that their child will not look like them.  Quite the opposite is true actually, gene expression is a funny thing, though the characteristics of Down Syndrome are present to varying degrees, the expression of the family’s hair color, eye color, skin color and other characteristics is pretty undeniable.

Just take a peek at this picture and tell me there is not a strong family resemblance between my 6 children, regardless of the characteristics of Down Syndrome that my Cedar exhibits.