Daenan was born on 30th March 2013 in room number 13 and on a snowy white day within 2 hours and 55 minutes.
His midwife’s last name was ‘Angel’ and we really felt as if an Angel was sitting on our shoulders, because at birth Daenan came out legs first. Nobody had foreseen this would not be a ‘normal’ labour!
On the second day of Daenan’s life, I thought as a new mother ‘the society and children can be quite tough in terms of the stigma attached to Down Syndrome’ and I decided to do something about that. That was the day Downandbeautiful.com was born. I wanted to change the perceptions a lot of people have about Down syndrome into something positive.
In the 9 months in which I carried my baby boy, no one could have prepared me for the following 9 years that would follow with my son and his brother who was five. Within the next 3287.25 days Daenan showed me how to see the light in each new day, how to celebrate life and every single moment in it. He taught me to stand still and live in the moment. He brought it home to me that if I could fight for the rights of my son, I could stand up for myself at the same time as well! He makes the world a better place just for being in it!!!
www.downandbeautiful.com
Well done,
I absolutely love your words “He makes the world a better place just for being in it!!!”.
Daenan is:
– A blessing to you and our world.
– A young boy with a mission and purpose.
Thanks for sharing your story and opening our understating to the worth of every child , including those diagnosed with Downs Syndrome.
Thank you for your valued comments Matthew. Daenan is a beautiful boy and indeed a blessing to his mum and all those who know him. I admire Mayke for wanting to change perceptions positively towards individuals with Down Syndrome, like our children because they do indeed make the world a better place, as stated in Miki’s song ‘Different’ (… if you see the world in colour it would be a better place, you’ll see the light shine just look at my face!). These children have an incredible capacity to live in the moment and see the world in colour with their smiles, laughter and resilience…we could learn a valuable lesson from them! Daenan like Miki is first and foremost a person and deserves to be loved and respected for who he is above all else and to have the same rights and voice we all have and so often take for granted! Thank you once again Mayke for sharing Daenan’s story and for really helping to make a difference…bless you and Daenan always!
Erika, I absolutely agree with you and well done to Mayke for sharing the amazing story of Daenan.
Love your words about every child : “first and foremost a person and deserves to be loved and respected for who he is above all else and to have the same rights and voice we all have ..”
Absolutely on point and looking forward to supporting your work.
Thank you again for your kind words of commendation and continued support of our cause dear Matthew. You already support us in so many ways and we are so grateful for that. I very much hope you will purchase our charity CD on diversity and inclusion when we launch it as it will be our first major fundraiser! Thank you so much and much support to you and everything you do in return as well…your advocacy in protecting women’s rights is indeed admirable!