Down Syndrome Clinic - Riley Children's Hospital

We live in Lafayette, Indiana, which is about 45 minutes northwest of downtown Indianapolis.  Before we moved to Lafayette we lived in Indianapolis for three years.  Since being in the Indy area something I have always heard about was Riley Children's Hospital.  I would hear about it on the news or hear people talk about it.  I never really thought I would go there or that one of my children would be there.  I have no idea why I thought that....probably because I thought I had an idea of how things would go....I now see how naive that was of me.  One of the biggest things I have learned since Ashlyn being born is that I really am not in control and that is really okay.

Today Riley Children's Hospital is a part of our lives and my child does go there and I am SO thankful.  It is a wonderful hospital.  Soon after Ashlyn was born our doctors here in Lafayette referred us to Riley because they have a Down Syndrome clinic there with pediatricians who specialize in children with Down Syndrome. I remember how very nervous I was the first time we went there when Ashlyn was just a couple of months old.  I remember walking through the doors with Troy and Ashlyn and remembering in my heart how I never thought I would be there.  I remember being so apprehensive about what I would see....not everything at a children's hospital is pretty and I would probably see things that made me sad....and most of all I would see other kids who had Down Syndrome.  That first time after we checked in and began to walk the halls of the hospital, I did begin to see those things....I saw kids in wheelchairs and kids walking in braces.  I saw a child with a bad burn all over his face.  I knew that there were kids on a floor of that hospital fighting cancer or facing life or death surgeries.  The first time we went there I remember thinking, "I bet Jesus walks the halls of this place."  I could just sense that in that place, Jesus was near, close to all of the people there whether they knew it or not.  So, I began to feel peace.  We turned down the hall where the Down Syndrome area is and we saw it....kids with Down Syndrome sitting with their parents.  And, again there were feelings of peace...feelings of, yes, our girl has Down Syndrome and so do these kids and their parents have walked the same road we have...and I began to feel kind of at home in a place I never thought I would be.

This past Monday we took Ashlyn for her one year check-up and again had a wonderful experience.  We saw the Dr. for a few minutes and then a nurse practitioner.  What I love about going to Riley is that the doctors there don't see Down Syndrome, they just see Ashlyn.  They celebrate her. They take the time to ask us about how her first birthday went because they know it is an emotional time. They listen to all of my worries and they say, "Don't worry. She is going to get it."  On Monday, they told us that Ashlyn is growing very well and they hear her making great verbal sounds.  They said her hearing is great and her thyroid levels are normal.  My main concerns were her getting off the bottle and onto a sippy cup and that she isn't crawling yet....both things that they confidently assured me....don't worry, she is going to get it!  As we were finishing up the nurse practitioner who examined her said, "She is beautiful and she is going to be just fine."

It is so funny that a place I was initially afraid to go to because I thought it would never be a part of my life, is now somewhere I feel better after having spent time there.  Continuing to be so grateful for God's faithfulness in all of these things.  Here is a picture of "our beautiful girl who is going to be just fine" while she was waiting for the doctor.