Donate Through Erin’s 3/21 Pledge Page Here!
We are the Mullen Family. We have two little girls, Amelia (5) and CC (3). CC is a bright, happy little tornado who just happens to have Down syndrome. We love to spend time with our family and are lucky to have a lot of them around us! We also love to travel, dance, read books, and eat! What makes us happiest, though, is watching our girls together. Since CC was born, Amelia has called her “my CC,” and CC adores Amelia. She follows her big sister around, shouting her name and learning from her like a sponge!
I never knew anyone with Down syndrome before my daughter, so my feelings when we were given a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome were confusing. There was never any question of whether we would have our little girl or love her, and we decided right away that we were never going to put limits on what she could do — but even then, it was hard to always stay positive. Our OB-GYN at the time told us we should terminate her, and he gave us so much misinformation it was embarrassing (for him). So much of what we read was about what she wouldn’t be able to do, how different she was going to be. They were all so wrong, as you usually are when you have low expectations for ANYONE.
What we have discovered is that having CC in our family is no different from having any other child. Like with any child, we LOVE every minute of watching CC reach her potential. And wow, has she done that — whether it’s thriving after heart surgery at 5 months old, walking at 19 months, saying “Mama” for the first time or conquering the slide! Her determination is something to be admired. She is someone to admire.
CC has opened up a whole new world for us as well as for our truly amazing friends and family. Besides giving everyone who knows us a reason to think about inclusion and acceptance, CC has given us an opportunity to advocate on behalf of her and others. For the last year and a half, I have represented the Global Down Syndrome Foundation in Washington, DC. Together with Global, the Down syndrome community, and amazing champions in Congress, we were able to lead an effort to secure a historic 65% increase of Down syndrome research funding at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This significant increase is important for so many reasons, but very largely because making Down syndrome research a priority and ensuring access to quality healthcare helps individuals with Down syndrome reach their true potential.
Ruby’s Rainbow also does that, and so much more. It provides hope for families and individuals, and it changes perceptions. For any child, the idea that someone believes they can one day go to college is a powerful message that encourages determination and confidence. We want this to be an opportunity for CC and any other individual with Down syndrome, if they want it. We can’t wait to help Ruby’s Rainbow this year!