{"id":226664,"date":"2020-07-02T18:07:19","date_gmt":"2020-07-02T23:07:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=226664"},"modified":"2020-07-02T18:22:44","modified_gmt":"2020-07-02T23:22:44","slug":"woman-reflects-sister-down-syndrome-taught-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/woman-reflects-sister-down-syndrome-taught-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Woman reflects on sister with Down syndrome: ‘She\u2019s taught us all so much’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A recent story from Humans of New York<\/a> revealed the love between two sisters, as well as the disappointments and heartaches. While these feelings are universal, what set this story apart is that one of the sisters has Down syndrome.<\/p>\n

\u201cTracey did all the things a big sister would do. She always called me \u2018Nut,'” the post began. “She helped me wash my hands, and brush my teeth. We rode bikes and played in the sandbox. Maybe our parents didn\u2019t punish her as much. But other than that, nothing seemed different.” But that idyllic childhood came crumbling down when a cruel boy in their neighborhood targeted the subject’s sister.<\/p>\n

“[A] boy in our neighborhood called her \u2018a retard,'” the author recalled. “I remember running home and asking my dad what that meant. He stared at me for a moment, like he didn\u2019t know where to start. And from that day on life was different. It\u2019s not right to say that we weren\u2019t equal anymore. But I went from innocent and not knowing, to feeling like I needed to protect her.”<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Couple with Down syndrome and autism celebrate 10 years of marriage<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

While the author of the post continued to have a normal childhood, her sister with Down syndrome didn’t; she wasn’t invited to slumber parties or to the prom, and after graduating high school at 21, there were no programs available to give her a place to live or meaningful employment.<\/p>\n

“[S]he stayed at home with Mom and Dad while I moved on with my life,” she said. “Big changes were hard for her. She\u2019d always say, \u2018Why does God make us different? It\u2019s not fair, Nut.\u2019 She cried when I went to college. And I think my wedding was hard for her, even though she was the maid of honor. It\u2019s not jealousy. It\u2019s just that she wants to live a normal life too.”<\/p>\n

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