photo by me

National Public Radio (NPR) in the U.S. has been doing a series called This I Believe. It is based on a 1950s radio show.

I’ve been thinking about the things I believe in and what I would say if I entered an essay. For me, it all comes down to family. I think that one event, out of so many, really defines what that means to me.

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Justice was born in the early morning hours of a June day in 2003. He surprised us all and arrived a month early. As his sister and I slept, waiting for a call from my brother and his wife, Justice fought his way into the world.

One call was all it took and the family phone network was in action. Family members went to the hospital to rejoice in the birth of another baby and welcome him to the world. We also went to give support to my brother and his wife.

Justice was born a month early and had a hole in his heart. He was also diagnosed with Down Syndrome. He was on ventilators and all kinds of machines for that first month of his life. When he was finally released, he had to remain on oxygen because he just couldn’t produce enough.

Sometimes the help and support of family can be too much. Sometimes it can be overwhelming. Sometimes it doesn’t allow you the space and time to grieve that you need. The entire family was caught off-guard by Justice’s birth. Friends in the disability community told me that we all needed time to grieve: to let go of that image of the healthy child we had expected and to embrace the child we had received.

Justice became our miracle baby. He fought his way into this life. He endured open-heart surgery at the age of four months. He occasionally has respiratory issues to this day and has to go back on breathing treatments or oxygen tanks.

What I have realized, since his birth, is the power of family. I have seen people rally to support my brother and his family. I have seen friends send articles about Down Syndrome from across the country when they see something that makes them proud of being in Justice’s life. I have seen a family begin to learn a new language to communicate with a small boy; a family join together to walk in the annual Buddy Walk in Phoenix; a family who cries when they hear about other people leaving their Down Syndrome children to die.

I have witnessed the dynamics of family: biological and not, coming together to support a miracle.

I have witnessed compassion and activism. I have witnessed growth and understanding.

I have witnessed love.

I believe in the power of family. I believe that they can make adversity turn into miracles. I believe that anything can be achieved when that support is there.

This, I believe.