Landon's Family
Landon's mom, Kelly, asked for the afghan for her family's Buddy Walk and it was the last stop before the afghan headed off to The Buddy Cruise. She made a beautiful flier that was not only available at the Buddy Walk, but was altered a bit (by Kelly herself) and sent off to the Buddy Cruise to be distributed to the families who attended that event as well.
I will make a post later regarding the Carpenter Family and their Buddy Walk. For now, this one is all about the adorable Mr. Landon and his experience with the afghan! His mom sent me a little information to share about her little man, and I am happy to do that!
First, here are some pictures of Landon's adventure with the afghan! (The blown kiss is one of my favorites!!)
All About Landon:
We were given a bit of a heads up that our little man would have an extra chromosome.
Prenatally, he had extra fluid on the kidneys and shorter arms and legs compared to the size of his head. Markers, we were told, for Down syndrome. One out of one hundred was our chance, he said. At that same appointment, our options, at least as we felt they were presented to us, were: 1. Have an amnio to confirm and plan to terminate, or 2. Wait and see. Well, part 2 of option 1 wasn’t an option for us. And I was too scared of the risk for miscarriage for part 1 of option 1, so we opted for option 2. I really don’t remember many thoughts or feelings that I had at the time, other than - we are a family of big heads! I think we pushed the 1 percent chance back in our mind and focused on the 99 others.
Landon Cole was born February 15, 2008 with very little complications. I had polyhydramnios (extra amniotic fluid) during the later part of my pregnancy. I like to joke that Landon had an Olympic sized swimming pool, which gave him the opportunity to turn around with his rear-end down by the time I was induced. So, they wheeled me into another room for a c-section. His upper and lower body blood pressures measured differently, plus his heart rate was a little higher than they wanted it to be, so he was whisked off to the NICU. I don't remember at what point the doc came in to tell us that Landon had some physical characteristics of Down syndrome and all I could think at that point was, "what does this mean for him?" In the months following his birth, I remember asking many people that question. Of course, other than generalizations, no one could answer that for me.
Landon spent a couple extra days in the NICU, for two reasons. He had jaundice that was slow to go away and got some crazy blood readings. Later, I finally understood that it was a ‘possible myeloproliferative disorder’ which had him visiting a hematologist’s office every three months to look out for leukemia (so far, so good).
A few days before Landon's last day at the hospital, we were visited by the geneticist who finally confirmed that Landon did, in fact, have Down syndrome. After leaving the hospital that day, we headed straight for the book store and purchased the new parents guide. We searched the internet high and low, connected with the early intervention program in our area, I checked the Down syndrome groups daily on Café Mom, and we got in touch with the local Down syndrome association and began to attend playgroups and meetings. All of which was the quest to learn as much as possible and begin to answer that question burning in my mind.
We are truly lucky that Landon has only had minor health issues related to his extra chromosome. Landon had three small holes in his heart at birth. By 6 months, two had closed and the other one insignificant. When Landon was 9 months old, we discovered that he had a cataract in his right eye that was blocking 90% of his vision. Unfortunately his surgery was postponed for 2 months after he developed RSV, which turned into pneumonia, which ravaged his little lungs so much that he was sent home on oxygen for a short time. However, we were able to get the cataract removed and implant inserted right before he turned 1. Shortly after his 1st birthday, we were informed after blood work that he has hypothyroidism. Since then, knock on wood, he has been healthy and happy.
So, what has having Down syndrome meant for Landon? I find this such a hard question to answer now. Yes, he is delayed. We had to wait longer than most for his first smiles, his first engaging looks, his first time rolling over, sitting up, crawling, standing, walking and self-feeding. Selfishly, it has given me my baby for just a little bit longer. But, at 20 months, he is a robust, playful and intensely curious little boy who loves books, throwing and catching balls, putting objects in other objects and playing with his big sister. Now that he is walking he keeps us on constant alert because he is fast, strong and very, very determined! Extra chromosome or not, this kid is the picture of joy, happiness and life fulfillment that all parents wish for.
You can read more about Landon's adventure (and see more pictures) on this post of the family's blog! And don't forget to book mark, The Carpenter Crhonicles to keep up with Landon and his family!
