An Afghan For Coco

Miss Coco Rose received her very own afghan!

Here she is opening it up and getting acquainted!








You can read all about Coco on her new website, Coco's Corner!

An Afghan For Amarli: Kind of!

Here is Ms. Amarli with An Afghan Of Their Own. This one will be gifted to her friend, who also shares her extra chromosome, and another afghan will be on its way for Amarli to keep!

How cute is she???

Help Support The Special Olympics

The purpose of the T21 Traveling Afghan Project is to link our families and celebrate the differences we share. I have gotten a great deal of feedback thanking me for putting this project together. Some people don't realize how little it takes to get involved and make a huge difference. The Special Olympics is an awesome organization that you can donate your time and resources to in an effort to become involved with the community.

Donating time to the Special Olympics is an amazing experience for teens, young adults as well as a great way to spend some family time while helping others.

This organization would not exist today without the effort of volunteers.

If you are interested in helping out, check out these ways to become involved:

Get in touch with Special Olympics near you to see what you can do to help.

Be a fan in the stands at a Special Olympics event near you.

Follow Special Olympics online through Twitter, Facebook and our own Fan Community

Donate money to keep Special Olympics programs going.

Contribute five minutes to take the pledge to stop using "retard" as an insult.

Watch a video about a group of Mattel Corp. volunteers or about Mike Cohen, one outstanding coach, and then share it with five friends.

Find out ways you and your church, club or friends can get involved near home. Find the Special Olympics nearest you and invite a speaker to your next get-together.

If you're a college student, check out SO College to get active at your school.

Get in the game by joining Special Olympics Unified Sports®, where people with and without intellectual disabilities train and compete together on the same team.

Know someone with an intellectual disability? Refer them to a Special Olympics program nearby.

Don't sit on your seat, go out and do something great!

Our First Press Release!! Woo Hoo!

The Traveling Afghan - One blanket. Hundreds of families. One common thread!

For Immediate Release: Franklin, TX-

In 2004, CJ Field of Appleton, WI began considering adoption to expand her family and give her 7-yr-old son, Brendan a sibling to grow up with. She decided to consider adopting a child with Down syndrome, so CJ began her search for information online and connected with a support system which provided her with numerous friendships and valuable information. Soon after, fifteen month old Emmalee became part of the family and CJ became part of a growing group of parents advocating for their children with Down syndrome.

Individuals with Down syndrome (Ds) can sometimes experience a variety of health conditions associated with the third copy of the 21st chromosome that causes Ds. Some may be born with heart conditions, while others may have digestive problems, thyroid conditions or Leukemia. Most of the health complications associated with Down syndrome can be treated with proper medical care and individuals with Down syndrome are leading long, healthy lives because of these medical advances. However, it can sometimes be hard for a family coping with these conditions at the time.

While young Emmalee is relatively healthy, CJ noticed a lot of the little ones in her online circle going through many medical hardships. After teaching herself to crochet, CJ wanted to provide those children with an afghan to comfort them and let them know she was thinking about them and their families.

“This was my way to reach out to these families” says Field, “but there was not enough yarn or time to make every single child an afghan of their own.”

CJ decided to go a different route-one that would not only comfort the families, but also connect them in a very special way. Field decided to make one afghan that would travel throughout the world to reach all families of children with Down syndrome. The idea appealed to many families and in March 2009 “The Traveling Afghan” began its journey. When a family receives the afghan, pictures are taken to share on the website and the children are comforted with its soft fibers and bright colors before it is mailed to the next family down the line. But this is more than just a photo shoot. The Traveling Afghan has connected families of children with Down syndrome throughout the world in a very unique way that strengthens the bond between these families. It has also reconnected CJ with a child she provided foster care for during the child's first three years of life. This child has now been adopted and has an afghan of her own specially made by Field.

In just the short few months that The Traveling Afghan has been moving from family to family, the project has grown so much that it now has its own website and calendar, and has become a great tool of awareness for those with Ds. Families from all 50 states and 15 countries have added their name to the waiting list to receive their chance to share this common bond.

The Traveling Afghan will take a unique journey across the United States in July to reach the Down Syndrome Research & Awareness Conference-BUILDING BRIDGES FOR DOWN SYNDROME, being held in Cincinnati, OH on July 10-12. This International life-span conference is hosted by the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati (DSAGC) and is being brought to the area by International Mosaic Down Syndrome Association (IMDSA). IMDSA’s president, Kristy Colvin will begin the journey with the afghan from her residence in Central Texas and make stops along the way to spread awareness about Down syndrome. Everyone attending the conference will have the opportunity to participate in the first largest photo shoot with The Traveling Afghan and then send it on its way to the next family to continue its journey. CJ Field has also generously donated another afghan which will be available at the conference’s Silent Auction that Friday evening.

The project has become so popular among the families of children with Down syndrome that it has also branched off into "An Afghan of Their Own" in which CJ provides many children with their own afghan. To date, 24 children have received their very own afghan, in the same pattern as The Traveling Afghan in their choice of colors. To include your name on the growing list of families or make a donation so others can receive “An Afghan of Their Own” you can visit the website at www.thet21travelingafghanproject.com

For more information about the Down Syndrome Research & Awareness Conference- BUILDING BRIDGES FOR DOWN SYNDROME held in Cincinnati, OH, visit www.imdsa.org or call 888-MDS-LINK.

An Afghan for Ella Grace

Ella Grace with the Pretty Face got her afghan! The pictures are amazing and she sure is a cutie!!





You can see more pictures on the post An Afghan of her Own!! on Ella Grace's blog Ella Grace with the Pretty Face!

An Afghan For Gabriella

Sweet Gabriella has an Afghan of Her Own!

As you can see, she is enjoying it a great deal!




And, just like most of the other kids, she enjoys putting it over her head and playing beek-a-boo!



You can read more about Gabrielle, her mom Jasmine and their amazing family on their blog Windmills and Tulips

An Afghan For Amber

Miss Amber has received her afghan and went right to work making it at home in her bed!




I love seeing the kids with their afghans! Amber's smile says it all!

An Afghan For Gemma

This little beauty has received her own afghan! As you can see, their first meeting was quite a success!!

Lilly's Family

The afghan spent some time in the home of Lilly and her family! As you can see, it had quite an adventure!

First, Lilly and her sister opened the afghan and had some fun with it!






The afghan got to go to Dreamnight at Riverbanks Zoo where Lilly and her friend, Zoe, enjoyed playing peek-a-boo with the afghan!






The afghan also got to play with Lilly's friend, Chase, at her music/sign class!





As you can see, Lilly kept the afghan busy and enjoyed her time with it!

You can see more pictures and read all about Lilly on her blog, Loving Lilly!

Updates

Welcome to our new home on the net!

I apologize for the inconvenience of having to change links (remember to update your buttons, folks!) but our own domain name gives us a lot more freedom and options. Plus, it's easier to remember!

If you have a button on your page, please copy the coding from THIS button and paste it directly over your current button coding:

<center> <a href="http://www.thet21travelingafghanproject.com"><img src="http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/ww352/sophblitz/T21buttoncopy.png"/></a></center>

If you have already received the afghan, or received An Afghan Of Their Own, please update any links you may have on you blog.

Anyone who clicks on a link to our former blogspot address will be redirected to this new webpage.

If you have not heard, we officially have all fifty states in the project!! (If you want to be up on the latest news and events, join us on the T21 Traveling Afghan Project Group on Facebook!)

Quite a few kiddos have received afghans of their own, we're just waiting on pictures for some of them! Check out the AOTO: Queue to see who is cuddling up with their own afghan and who is waiting on one! I have updated many of the pages with pictures of the kids and/or the completed afghans.

Please continue to spread the word regarding the project to all your friends and organizations!

As of today, the afghan has moved on to another family and we should be receiving pictures shortly!

Thank you for your continued support and interest in The T21 Traveling Afghan Project!

An Afghan For Elliot

Mr. Elliot has an afghan of his own and he couldn't be happier!







You can see more of Elliot on his blog, Elliot's Expeditions!

Elliot's mom, Michelle, wrote up this essay to tell us all about her son. Enjoy!

“I double dare you.”

Elliot’s primary neonatal intensive care unit nurse gave me a figurine: an
angel, arms extended to the open sky, entitled “Courage.” She gave it to me
knowing that I would not need it for long. For she knew what I had really
been given. What an insightful woman.

The figurine sits reverently in the living room (very politely hidden just a
bit behind a trinket or two). Not everyone can see it; it does not matter
that it isn’t seen by all. It is seen by me. I look at it on good days. I
look at it on bad days. I look at it almost every day. I took it with me to
a nearby children’s hospital to hold my hand while I held Elliot’s following
spinal surgery. And, it saw me through. I know; I could simply pray (and
yes; I do that as well). I could do many things to augment my strength. But
why? All I need is the figurine…the figurine AND, so much more notably, the
look in my child’s eyes: the look of valor. Elliot can face adversity;
Elliot can face danger and misfortune. And, because of him, I can face
anything. I can face the world with renewed confidence because I have been
sanctified as a mother who was chosen to raise an astonishing child with
Down syndrome.

I have not always been a strong person. I was strong on the outside. I would
say the right things; I would act the right way; I would put on an
especially credible facade. I had to. My profession dictated that.

The facade is gone. No more false pretense. I am strong, and really, I think
that I always have been. It just took a wee bit of something (and someone)
completely out of the ordinary to show me just how sturdy I really was. The
strength was hidden inside – somewhere deep inside of my moral fiber. And
now, it is positioned reverently in my smile. Reverently. Just like the
figurine. I see it when I look in the mirror. I don’t care if others see it
as I once cared. I know that it is there.

Elliot will achieve. Elliot will learn. Elliot will become what Elliot wants
to be. Elliot will teach. And…Elliot has taught. Elliot has taught me a
great deal about courage.

He is not strong because I am strong. I am strong because he is strong.

I can look people in the eye, and correct them, when they refer to Elliot as
a “Downs child.” I am his advocate. I will not allow him to be called
“retarded.” Elliot has given me the strength to question the true definition
of the stomach-turning word (sickening in the way that it is generally
used). Well, yes; he is a bit dawdling from a mental standpoint. But I am
sluggish from a mechanical standpoint. I’m the blonde who cannot change the
light bulb. So, am I “mechanically retarded?” Well, probably. No, most
certainly!

As a public relations professional, my words and my correspondence have
always been canned…politically correct, I suppose. No longer. I say what I
think without any fluff. I no longer experience trepidation when informing
clients that their statements are inappropriate, and I won’t represent
inaccuracies and positions based upon anything less than appropriate morals.
Elliot gave me the strength to stand up to the people who actually foot the
bills!

Upon Elliot’s arrival, my mind was in a state of pandemonium. “Tell me a
lie; tell me a sweet little lie,” I hummed to myself over…and over again
upon hearing the words on the telephone from the neonatologist across town.
So plainly, “I know he has Down syndrome.”

I pictured my second cousin who was never placed outside of a corner
bedroom: a boy who could not eat on his own, who wore diapers and never
uttered a word. This was my memory of a boy (and now a grown man) with Down
syndrome. I was once again a scared little girl…five years old, quaking
without words in my second cousin’s presence at holiday time.

I waited for the ambulance transfer, just so I could see him. My son waited
for me, across town. I looked at him. I wondered where my flawless child
was. Who was this diminutive creature, staring up at me with huge eyes and a
microscopic, 32-week, 4-pound body?

He had the courage to say, “It’s me, Mom.”

“Elliot James.”

“Who, in God’s name, are you to think that I am not just as perfect as my
sister?”

“I’m here; so look out world, here I come.”

And, he did.

He showed the NICU staff that he would be bound and determined not to stay
until his due date eight weeks away. Less than two weeks and he’d had
enough.

He nursed. My baby boy, two months premature, and diagnosed with Down
syndrome at birth, NURSED. He blew those neonatologists straight out of the
water. Elliot arrived home, safe and sound, a mere twelve days after his
arrival into what he considered to be one great world, a world that is not
ready for him to be strong. He alters those erroneous perceptions on a daily
basis.

Catholics that we are, we arranged for the hospital’s resident Priest to
baptize Elliot in what Elliot thought of as an infirmary…in all of its
sterility. Originally, the Priest agreed. But, as a few days passed, he
indicated that he found it unnecessary. The dear Priest knew better. And,
Elliot knew better. He must have told him (in not so many words) that he
preferred the church.

The time came and went. When my Elliot was just a few months old, I became
pregnant again, to my surprise. And, believe it or not, I was aghast with
the perinatologists’ wishes; the pediatric cardiologists’ wishes, and the
wishes of all of the other “specialists,” when every single one of them
insisted that I undergo an amniocentesis. My courage said, “No; positively,
absolutely not!”

I had done this; I was doing this; and I would not be bothered one ounce if
“this” happened again. I refused. I refused with more audacity than they
wanted to hear. I gave birth to another son. Elliot and his brother are
thirteen months and one day separated by age. Elliot’s brother is of the
typical chromosomal make-up, but really, so what. As I stated, it did not
matter and it continues to not matter. It would have mattered before. Before
the familiarity, I would have been a faint-hearted, little lion.

I recently told an associate of mine just how blessed I was to have a child
with Down syndrome. She laughed. She said, “No, he is blessed for he is
perfect and we should all aspire to be so perfect…a pure reflection of God,
in all of his grandeur…more powerful than you will ever imagine, Michelle.”

“Learn by example,” she said.

She hit the nail on the head.

It sounds so cliché to anyone who has a child with Down syndrome, but your
child (if you are blessed to give birth to one with the almighty extra
chromosome) will teach you courage – certainly not courage in the typical
sense, but courage that you never knew really existed.

Elliot shows me daily just how important it is to be strong. His gaze can
make the most insensitive people smile. He can sense when someone is
staring, and plainly, he smiles at everyone, with confidence…with courage. I
have a feeling that he always will. And now, I will too.

Elliot is a hero. He overcame severe thyroid disorder (a multitude of
antibodies that he inherited from me); he endured copious blood draws
without shedding a tear; he kicked the dickens out of the oxygen tank; he
faces his hydrocephalus head on (no pun intended) and he let the
neurosurgeon open up his spine and now crawls with flying colors. I know; he
is not a school-aged child; he is far from adolescence. He is not even
three. In the mere two and a half years that he has graced the earth with
his fortitude, my child has taught me more about bravery and stamina than he
will ever know (but maybe, just maybe…he does know). Just imagine. Elliot’s
whole life is ahead of him. And now, so is mine, full of more spirit than I
ever thought possible.

And, as for the figurine, I may just put it away. I see it in the reflection
of Elliot’s eyes.

P.S. The meaning of Elliot’s full name, unknown to me at the time he was so
named, follows:
(Elliot – “The Lord Is My God”)
(James – “Strong, romantic, willing and smart”)

An Afghan For Jaxson

Mr. Jaxson has an afghan of his own!

Jaxson's mom runs Jaxson's Blankies for Babes and we did a blanket swap! Here is Jaxson, fast asleep, with his T21 Afghan!



Here is the afghan before it made it's way to its home with Jaxson:





Jaxson's Blankies for Babes supplies blankies are for kids of all ages with life threatening illnesses. No child will be denied a blankie, so don't be afraid to fill out a request.

Here is Emmalee with her blankie from Jaxson!



She noticed there is a picture of Jaxson on the blanket:



And she decided Jaxson needed a kiss!!



You can read more about Jaxson's Blankies for Babes and Jaxson's Fight, by following the button links below!