Mum's touching 'review' about her baby who has Down syndrome goes viral
A mum’s incredibly honest ‘review’ about her daughter who has Down syndrome is melting the Internet’s heart.
After difficulties conceiving and a failed round of IVF, Jessica Egan and her husband had been overjoyed when they learned they were pregnant.
However, 11 weeks into the pregnancy, a blood test revealed that their unborn child had down syndrome, leaving the couple devastated.
But after reaching out to their local Down syndrome foundation and educating themselves about the diagnosis, Jessica’s attitude towards her daughter’s extra chromosome changed.
A post shared by Jessica Egan (@oursweetgwendolyn) on Feb 24, 2019 at 11:14am PST
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Following baby Gwendolyn’s birth in December, and having spent a couple of months parenting their daughter, Jessica took to social media to share a heartfelt ‘review’ of her baby and what it really means to parent a child with Down syndrome.
“When I placed my order I said, “Regular amount of chromosomes, please!” That’s what everyone else got and what I wanted too,” the new mum began her post.
“They called me shortly after my order was in production and said “Great news, we went ahead and upgraded you to extra chromosomes for free! You’ll receive the extra chromosomes with your completed order in 9 months.”
A post shared by Jessica Egan (@oursweetgwendolyn) on Feb 10, 2019 at 4:21pm PST
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She went on to say that all the other “orders” she’d seen on Instagram “did NOT have extra chromosomes.”
“Well I decided that receiving my order with extra chromosomes was better than not receiving an order at all, so I settled in to wait for this surprise upgrade to arrive,” she continued.
“I have now had my order for two months and am writing this review to let others know the upgrade to extra chromosomes is amazing!!
“If offered, definitely take it! I posted some photos below of the finished product and you can see the extra chromosome is so worth it – it is extra cute, extra special, and extra-ordinary! So much extra joy. Would purchase again for sure,” she finished the heartwarming post.
Since sharing, her post, which appears on her Instagram page, @oursweetgwendolyn, and on Facebook, has been touching hearts all over the Internet.
“This is the most touching thing I think I’ve ever read,” one user wrote. “Your daughter is beautiful, as are your words.”
“This is so well said and lovingly comical!” wrote another. “I love the way you put your thoughts into words!”
“This made my heart jump with joy! Thank you for sharing,” added another.
The look of being so happy to be in this world and at home with people who love you #sweetgwendolyn
A post shared by Jessica Egan (@oursweetgwendolyn) on Dec 28, 2018 at 2:48pm PST
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Jessica told Boredpanda that she’s overwhelmed by the response to her post and hopes it helps other parents going through something similar.
“The feedback has been so full of positivity, love, and acceptance that it is overwhelming,” she said. “I have heard from multiple people who also recently have had a baby with Down Syndrome but are still coming to terms with it and have been in a very dark place. Hearing that my post touched them so completely and helped heal them is humbling, and truly something I will honour for the rest of my life.”
I’m not crying, you are!