Hannah…
…is one of God’s greatest gifts and blessings to us. We are a family of five who consists of myself, my husband Marko, Aliza (10 years), Hannah (8 years) and Israel (3 years old).
I was 37 years old when Hannah was born. I knew that as an older mother my chances of having a child with Down syndrome and other defects were higher, but many older moms had “normal” babies, so why would I be an exception? I had a good pregnancy and we decided not to do the Down syndrome screening test as we would not consider an abortion. Also some of my friends had false alarms with the test and stressed unneccessarily. At 20 weeks the detailed ultrasound did not show any sign of Down syndrome (e.g. heart defects). So when Hannah was born it was quite a shock initially, but I was glad I did not know beforehand. It would have just caused unneccessary stress and anxiety.
Yes, we questioned God and had to mourn the loss of the “normal” child we expected and adjust the dreams we had for her. It was a very difficult time for us as a couple. The hospital staff were very good and informed us of the diagnosis in a kind, professional manner. Several tests were done on her and we realised after some research that we were really blessed that their was no mayor problems esp. heart defects. Eventually we came to realise that Hannah was in God’s perfect plan and given to us for a reason. She was firstly our little baby girl, and thereafter came her DS diagnosis. I was questioning, “Why me?”, but came to a point where I had to say: “Why NOT me?”
My greatest fear was that people would feel sorry for me. Many friends did not know how to handle her diagnosis. Many told me how sorry they were. All I wanted was for them to congratulate me and treat me the same as any other mom. Luckily many others DID celebrate her birth and esp. my father offered such wisdom and encouragement. We took her home after three days and ever since she is loved and raised just like any other kid. We do have some challenges, such as delayed milestones and more respiratory infections. She needs more stimulation and therapy to help her develop, but that does not weigh up against the great priviledge of being her parents. She truely is a gift and teach us so much! She is fearless (sometimes a bit too much I must say!) and give us so much unconditional love.
Hannah is no more a baby, but has turned into a beautiful girl with a very caring heart. She loves singing and dancing and drawing. She have her moments and test our patience at times, being stubborn and naughty just like any other child. But she knows who need a hug and always want to pray at the table or at our family prayer time. We believe that she loves Jesus and has a very special relationship with Him. She is currently in Gr 1 in a mainstream school in our neighbourhood. She is so proud of her school and we are blessed with a wonderful teacher and classmates who accept and love her for who she is. Getting her into a mainstream school took a lot of persuasion and motivation, but we can see the benefits in terms of speech and social skills especially.
Our dream for her is to become everything that God has intended her to be and develop to her full potential. We pray that He will use her in a supernatural way for His kingdom and glory.
We would like her to learn to read and write and become really good at something and be able to contribute to society. She must feel valued and be able to experience life and have fun just like any other person, enjoying sport, hobbies and good friendships. Who knows…perhaps even marry one day.
Hannah Sophia Kiroglu…you rock!
From Elzeth Kiroglu, Strand