A family of a child with Down syndrome shares their story.
Our son, Mateus Delgado, is two years old; yet he is the light of our lives.
Mateus has the biggest pair of chocolate-brown eyes you can ever imagine, eyes fringed with long pale lashes. His hair is blond, thick, and wavy and when he smiles, twin dimples mark his chubby cheeks. He is absolutely adorable.
Mateus also happens to be mentally disabled. He was born with Down syndrome and at two years of age, he is just learning to talk (with simple sign language) and walking. He is very outgoing, not to mention energetic: by the end of the day we are about to fall over, we are so exhausted! He keeps us hopping!
Yet we would not change a thing for anything in the world. The fact that he is still alive is nothing short of miraculous. At birth Mateus weighed only 1 pound, 2 ounces, and he had his first heart surgery at one week of age. He nearly died after he had complications, but eventually he recovered, much to everyone's amazement (and prayers).
Mateus has since had two more heart surgeries (at 11 months and again just before his second birthday); he may face more in the future, but now, as long as he remains healthy, that's all that we care about. For this reason we usually keep him home, so he doesn't catch any germs during cold/flu season; if he does go out, he has to wear a mask and we make sure that he is well beforehand. If he has as much of a sniffle he stays home, and so do we.
We cannot take too many chances.
We don't know what the future will hold for our son, but one thing is certain: we will do anything possible to give him a good life and to show others that just because our boy is mentally disabled, well that doesn't make him any less of a person!
When two men hit the reset button and decide to go out looking for the good in the world, they not only find it but also a lot more.
P.S. The title is listed on Amazon under Look for Something Good by Robert Drews (not by Robert H. Drews)
