Mom in Tears After 4-Month-Old Is Diagnosed with Down Syndrome. Now, She's the 'Best Thing That Happened' to Us (Exclusive)

• Lindsey Wiggins says she had a hunch that her daughter, Georgia, might have Down syndrome, but it wasn't until a routine checkup that a doctor urged further testing

• After taking some time to process, Wiggins says she is embracing her daughter's diagnosis, and sharing her story publicly in the hopes that it might touch others

• In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, she shares more about the "joy" her daughter brings to her family

An Arkansas woman is opening up about the "denial" she faced before coming to terms with her daughter's Down syndrome diagnosis.

In a now-viral post on TikTok, Lindsey Wiggins shares that she had harbored concerns that her daughter, Georgia, might have Down syndrome — but she didn't confront them until, at a routine checkup four months after the birth, a doctor urged her to have the baby undergo genetic testing.

"Knowing deep in my heart she had most of the features, and I was in denial, I broke into tears immediately," she writes in her TikTok.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, 30-year-old Wiggins says her pregnancy with Georgia (her third child) was largely without complications. Her birth, at a little more than 37 weeks, was also routine.

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Related: Mom Mourns News Her Baby Has Down Syndrome. Then Daughter's Birth Changes Their Family Plans (Exclusive)

"She was born in June 2023," Wiggins shares. "She was just the squishy newborn that all babies are. The nurses never questioned anything or brought anything abnormal to my attention. All her newborn scans were normal ... She was just perfect."

But Wiggins acknowledges that she had some worries in the weeks after Georgia's birth.

"She didn't really open her eyes for at least three weeks," Wiggins says. "The doctor didn't act too concerned of that, he just said she would when she's ready. But after a month or two, it began to dawn on me that she looked like she had Down syndrome."

As Wiggins explains, there were few healthcare resources in her community. "I just don't think the nurses even knew what to look for initially. I live in such a small town that the hospital where I gave birth even recently did away with its labor and delivery ward," she shares.

So, she turned to Google. That's where she learned about the markers for the genetic condition — which occurs when a person has an extra chromosome that alters how the brain and body develop.

"The older Georgia got, the more noticeable her features became. Newborn babies, their looks change so much even in a couple months. But she did have some of the markers that I saw on Google," the mom says.

Still, she chalked it up to the overthinking that comes with being a mom — and, perhaps, a bit of fear.

"Honestly, I was scared," she says "Deep down, I felt like she probably had it but I was just in denial. I thought, 'I'm going crazy, this is not happening.' I also thought if she did have it, the doctor would bring it up to me."

At Georgia's four-month check-up, he did.

"He sat down and said, 'I think we're going to send you to the children's hospital in Little Rock [about an hour and a half away from Wiggins' home] and get her to sit with a genetic doctor and have her tested for Downs," she recalls.

She continues: "My face got red, I instantly burst into tears. I knew it in my heart but I didn't want to accept it. I was scared. Any parent that gets that kind of news, it's scary. You don't know ... what does that mean? I knew nothing about it. I did not know how to cope. I was sad."

"You have this vision in your head as a mother of what your future will be like, and what your children's lives will be like. To get that news, it just ... hurt," she adds.

Wiggins' fears were assuaged, though, the more she learned about Down syndrome.

The doctor walked her through next steps, which included an ultrasound of Georgia's heart and placing tubes in her ears to help with excess fluid. "And he reassured me this was not the end of the world — that she would thrive, and do all the things anyone else would do, but it might take her a little longer," she adds.

Wiggins began thinking more positively, making a conscious effort to disregard negative feelings, while still being open about her fears. She even started a TikTok account and posted her video in the hopes that it would help someone else.

Related: Powerful New Ad Challenges Stereotypes About Down Syndrome: ‘Assume I Can’

"I did not expect it to even blow up," she says of the video's now 241,000-plus views. "I was actually a little nervous. I was vulnerable putting that out there but I don't have many other mothers that I know in real life that have babies with Down syndrome. Posting about it allows me to connect with others in the same situation."

The more open she's become, Wiggins says, the more those early feelings have dissipated.

"Now, with Georgia about to be 18 months, I would totally disregard all those feelings," Wiggins says in retrospect. "She's the best best thing that has ever happened to our family. She is a gift from God."

Wiggins, who also has a 6-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter, continues: "She's taught me a lot. She's taught me patience, so now I have more patience for my other two children. She's also taught me that you don't always have to worry. You can just go through life joyfully."

"She is my little sunshine. She brings so much joy and laughter to everyone around her," she continues. "Her smile is contagious. If she grins at you, you are going to grin back."

Read the original article on People