Parents of adopted child with Down syndrome give back to community
The couple co-ordinated a special project for awareness week with support from friends
A couple who adopted a baby with Down syndrome around one year ago is working on a special project for the disorder's awareness week in Canada, which runs until Saturday.
Alex Graham and her wife, Holly, brought baby Jaxson into their home in June 2014 and as of Sunday, prints of Canadian nature are for sale on Stephen Underhay Photography's website, with 100 per cent of sale proceeds going to the Canadian Down Syndrome Society.
Underhay is a nature photographer and friend of the couple, which made him a natural fit to help with the project.
While Alex Graham is a former Winnipegger, she and Holly now live in Medicine Hat, Alta., where they also teamed up with the city's Boylan Imaging to make the prints.
"Last year we … had a very new baby, we were dealing with all his medical needs and we couldn't really take the time to give back," Alex told CBC.
But 2015 is different, she said, and with support from the community, they are in a position to help raise money for the cause.
Why Jax?
The couple specifically requested a baby with Down syndrome when they chose to adopt, and Alex said it's because of Mandy, a little girl her wife was friends with while growing up.
"[Mandy] was a really good friend, and a neighbour … So, [Holly] just always knew since she was very young that she wanted to be a parent to a child with Down syndrome," Alex said.
She added the most "startling fact" she has learned is that 90 per cent of Down syndrome pregnancies are terminated.
"That's a huge reason why we chose to adopt Jaxson, just to show the world how amazing being a parent to a child with Down syndrome is."
A challenging year
Between June and December 2014, the couple was in and out of the hospital with Jaxson, including when the small child had open-heart surgery.
But Alex said the child's health improved in 2015.
"He's growing, crawling, he's healthy, he's into absolutely everything," she said.
But, there will be challenges, which the couple knew before they adopted Jaxson.
Recently, he was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea, a condition common for children with Down syndrome.
"It was quite a process for us to go through; to see a sleep specialist, to get a study done," she said, adding Jaxson now sleeps with a CPAP machine, which helps him breathe through the night.
Still, the couple expects their son will "be no different than any other kid," aside from developing at his own pace.
"It will just take him longer to hit those milestones," Alex said.
"[He needs] the right support growing up. He can do all these things, but he might need to learn a different way."
For updates on Jaxson's development, visit the couple's blog, Down with Jax.