my daughter is PERFECT just like God made her

The parents of a girl with Down syndrome have caused a public outcry in the U.K. by subjecting their daughter to cosmetic surgery to improve her appearance.

Georgia Bussey underwent "radical and painful" cosmetic surgery three times by age 5 so she could "fit in" with her peers, the U.K.'s Daily Mail reported Sunday.

Parents of another girl with Down syndrome told the paper that they were also considering altering her appearance in the future so she could be more "accepted.”

Critics in the U.K. slammed the parents, with some even claiming the procedures were tantamount to child abuse. However, the parents hit back, saying that no one complained when "normal" children had their ears pinned back.

"Why should it be any different for a Downs child?" asked Georgia’s mother Kim Bussey.

Bussey said she and her husband David were motivated by love for their child and deliberated for a year before putting her through the ordeal.

In the first procedure, Georgia's tongue was reduced to stop it from protruding, according to the paper. Then folds of skin were removed from the inner corners of her eyes to take away the "slantiness characteristic" of Down syndrome. Finally, she had surgery to stop her ears from sticking out.

Bussey said society often judges people on the way they look.
"Society is not going to change overnight – so Georgia has to fit into society, rather than society fitting into the way she is," she said.

Another couple, Laurence and Chelsea Kirwan, told the newspaper they were considering surgical procedures for their two-year-old Down syndrome daughter, Ophelia.

Dr. Laurence Kirwan, a world-renowned plastic surgeon with offices in the U.K. and Connecticut, said they would make that decision if Ophelia reached the age of 18 and was being unfairly judged on how she looked.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/216479.stm






The mother of a Down's syndrome baby who put her daughter through three painful operations to improve her appearance has denied acting out of vanity.
The Down's Syndrome Association, while not criticising the couple directly, said it was worried about the sort of message sent by their actions


Kim Gallagher: "I didn't do it to make her look prettier, just to give her a more subtle look."
Kim Gallagher and her husband David said they simply wanted what was best for their daughter Georgia and were worried about her being teased at school.

The little girl's story is told in an ITV documentary, Changing Faces, being screened next Tuesday.

Ms Gallagher, 36, said she agonised for a year before deciding to go ahead with the cosmetic surgery on five-year-old Georgia.

The three operations involved:


Her tongue being shortened to stop it protruding.

Folds of skin being removed from her eyelids to reduce the "Mongoloid" appearance traditional associated with Down's syndrome.

Pinning her ears back to prevent them from sticking out.
The couple, who live in affluent Pimlico in central London, say the operations have not been purely cosmetic and point out that Georgia's speech and breathing have improved.

Was in denial after birth

Ms Gallagher, who says she had trouble accepting Georgia when she was first born and did not want to see her, says she wants to protect her daughter from teasing and taunts when she gets older.

She told the Daily Mail: "We live in a society that judges people by the way they look.

"Society is not going to change overnight so Georgia has to fit into society rather than society fitting into the way she is."

Ms Gallagher said some doctors had resisted her attempts to change her daughter's appearance but others had been very "positive".

Further operations a possibility

She said her daughter had not actually been taunted by other children but said she believed it might have happened later in childhood.

As for further cosmetic surgery, she says they are not ruling it out.



Carol Boyes from the Down's Syndrome Association: "We don't believe Down's children suffer."
The Down's Syndrome Association, which champions the rights of people with Down's syndrome, says it fully supports the right of adults to choose plastic surgery.

'Why hide her condition?'

But Carol Boyes, director of the association, said: "We are very sad that they feel the need to change their faces in an attempt to hide the fact that they have Down's syndrome.

"While we will always support them, we do question why parents decide to subject their young children to cosmetic surgery with all the discomfort and risk that any form of surgery entails.

"What message are parents giving to their child in showing that they would like to hide their child's disability?"

Ms Boyes said: "Society must learn to accept people with Down's syndrome for what they are - people who happen to have Down's syndrome. Giving in to prejudice and ignorance by hiding the outward signs of the disability is no solution."


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=528898&in_page_id=1879 another kid

Tubing Friday night

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Here is the beginning of my post. And here is the rest of it.

Carson inspires me

http://homepage.mac.com/vproux50/iMovieTheater29.html

check him out!

Alzheimers and Down syndrome-what they share

I think I may be the odd man out in the world, BUT...I have long thought there is a strong connection between DS/AD and autism. I also have a very strong feeling that knowing this will have an impact on how th world views DS, philosophically. I believe with everything in me we are killing off the very people who hold the answers to some of lifes biggest questions...cancer, AD, autism...

Children's Museum

we went to the Children's Museum today. Ciarra asked if Jade could come, so I said yes. We met up with some new friends of ours, too. In October, I got a call from a lady who saw on on tv doing promo stuff for the Buddy Walk. She has a daughter with DS who is 8. She thought our girls would hit it off. I didnt even know another little girl with DS lived near us! YAY! (She lives about 45 minutes away, but thats near around here!)
Anyway, the girls did hit it off. And we have done things 2 weeks in a row with them now. Her name is Kirsten, and she is SO cute. Her speech is just incredible, and talking with her is very easy. She and Ciarra both LOVE to play Doctors and sing songs and laugh and be silly. We have found a new friend, and I have a feeling it will be for life.

where Down Syndrome starts and ends

I am a member of more than a few Down syndrome specific sites. I routinely attend the yearly DS Conferences. I know a fair bit about statistics, different kinds of DS, health issues specific to "our kids", etc. In fact, it is rare a day goes by that I dont find myself speaking or typing the words "down syndrome". And yet, DS is such a minor part of who my daughter is in my thinking. I rarely look at her and think "oh, that is because of DS". I dont equate her successes and failures with the number of chromosomes she packs. Even so, I am aware of her genetic makeup deep in my bones, it is there even when it is not in the forefront of my thoughts.

Somehow, I have been able to raise her to be a young lady who happens to be really cute, funny, charming, a bit moody, a third grader, a great reader, a pretty good baseball player, an aspiring artist...who happens to have a little something extra in her genes. In a weird way, DS is everything, and DS is nothing. It colors most of my thinking about her and her future, and still manages to be at the end of a long line of things I think about when I think about her.

It is almost as though the DS is the last hurdle we jump in all cases of trying to give her the life of a normal little girl. Usually, it is along the lines of "How can we make a world that has her pegged as 'that Down syndrome kid' see who she really is. We think about the future, and the many ways she breaks the mold. She is not a superstar, I dont think. She talks fairly well, she is academically holding her own. But she is just a kid, just a kid with DS. As every other kid in the world, some will do more and better things, and some will do fewer. She is not that different than any other kid, making her way. Except that there are some ways that DS does impact her, whether they are physical or cognitive things, or barriers thrown up by the world. And except for the fact that when we sign her up for various things, there is the requisite "oh, by the way...she has Down syndrome". And there is the inevitable long, searching look, as whoever has just received that news gathers their response. Most of the time, it is a positive response, and questions come quickly about how they can make things smoother for her, what accomodations she will need. Every once in awhile, you get a reaction that tells you this might not be a great idea.

People are either very willing to tackle it or they arent. I am not naive enough to believe that having Ciarra on a team or in a group poses no unique challenges. I am fully aware, for instance, that she is generally smaller and less strong. She is not ever going to be the hardest hitter or the fastest runner. There are times I bargain with myself, remembering the big hit she got last year in baseball, the rush of emotion when her teammates came outside the dugout to give her five, in a line of acceptance and respect that seemed improbablte for their ages. Here is that video, in case you missed it.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The time is coming fast for us that we must again find a way to make the DS take a backseat to the little girl growing up in our home. Ciarra is approaching puberty...and fast. Once again, who she is, and how she is impacted by DS comes to the forefront. Do we approach this as we would any other little girl? We have had some of "the talk". She understands at an age (and development) appropriate level. And yet, emotionally, she is so young still. One of the incongruities of DS is that physical age and mental age and emotional age are all so varied. Academically, Ciarra is kicking butt. She is doing wonderful things. Mentally, she is very self-sufficient and capable. Developmentally, emotionally...she is young. Naive, innocent, guileless, trusting, unsuspecting, even un-sophisticated. Maybe every other word in the thesaurus there is about being completely too young and unprepared for this momentous undertaking. She is just a baby, I want to scream. God allows her to have the mind of innocense in so many ways, she does not yet even lie. And she will have to deal with having a period, changing pads, wearing a bra all the time. It seems unfair. And too, it seems that I want it both ways. Either she is a typical little kid and therefore she has to accept it all, the good and the bad, of life, or she is not. She is. I dont give her easy outs. I dont allow her to take the easy road. I push her to be her best, and here I am trying to find some way to let her out of this entryway to womanhood. Woman? She is only 9. :(

I guess the truth is that I am scared. Will I have what it takes to teach her to take care of herself, but even more to love herself, as she becomes a woman? Will she hate having her period (I do!) Will she understand all of the emotions and physical effects she faces? will she be moody and cry easily? Where does DS start and end? How does it affect her as she matures? The truth is, facing puberty in my daughter with Down syndrome means I have to face the biggie, the one issue that has ever made me cry. How do I explain to this darling little girl that having your period means your body is trying to make way for a baby...when having a baby and having DS are incongruent at best? The one thing I have ever cried over is that she likely will not have babies. Should she? Will she? She is old enough now that she has me trained. I dont get to decide. She is in charge. But Down syndrome is clearly a big part of the equation.

Kids with Ds stand a much higher chance of being sexually abused, especially those who are mildly affected. There is the issue of sexuality. There are so many questions...are boys with Ds really sterile? Should we be steering her towards loving those with DS, "those like her"? My heart, and my gut scream no. She gets to choose. Ds doesnt win this round. And yet..there it is. If she did have a baby, the chances of her having a baby who also has DS are 35-50%. Is that fair? is there anything wrong with having a baby with DS? Is that in itself making a judgement on her? I wonder if I had a crystal ball, would I use it? Or would I allow life to unfold in all of its beauty and tragedy and allow the details to reveal themselves to me in the time and place God intends? Sometimes, I just want to know. Will all of this work out? Will scientists find a way to ameliorate the effects of DS on our children's brains, and let them live more normal lives and make these decisions without all of our handwringing and worry? If the magic pill came tomorrow, would she have had enough real world experiences to live a life of "normal" and not be destroyed by it? do I even want her to be anything but the unique and precious little person she is?

You see, puberty brings so many questions. And Down syndrome is a part of most of the answers. Like it or not, there is no removing it from the picture. She can be as normal a kid as she is, living her normal little life in her normal little world, and then there it is...looming. Down syndrome. How will it affect this time in her life? How will she be affected as a woman, when the time comes to decide about children? will I ever be strong enough to say to this darling and loving child..."Honey, maybe you shouldnt have a baby..."? If the answer is that I HAVE to, then why should either of us have to be drug through this playacting of the mundane, this tease of normalcy, this promise of the future that probably will never be? Just for today, I want to scream out loud..."Down syndrome isnt fair, God."












Q. Do girls with Down syndrome have normal menstrual periods?

A. Menstruation for girls with Down syndrome is no different than for their peers in the general population. On the average, they begin menstruating at age 12 1/2, but may begin as early as age 10 or as late as age 14. Most girls with Down syndrome have regular cycles with the same minor irregularities typical of their peer group.

Alterations in a previously regular cycle may be due to the normal process of aging, or may be a sign of emerging hyperthyroidism. Ongoing irregularity of menstrual cycle warrants medical examination.

The Tanner stages (also known as the Tanner scale) are stages of physical development in children, adolescents and adults. The stages define physical measurements of development based on external primary and secondary sex characteristics, such as the size of the breasts, genitalia, and development of pubic hair.

Due to natural variation, individuals pass through the Tanner stages at different rates, depending in particular on the timing of puberty.

In HIV treatment, Tanner staging is used to determine which treatment regimen to follow (adult, adolescent, or pediatric).

The Tanner stages were first identified by James Mourilyan Tanner and thus bear his name.


Definitions of stages
Adapted from text by Lawrence Neinstein, MD.[1]


Pubic hair (both male and female)
Tanner I
no pubic hair at all (prepubertal state) [typically age 10 and under]
Tanner II
small amount of long, downy hair with slight pigmentation at the base of the penis and scrotum (males) or on the labia majora (females) [10–11]
Tanner III
hair becomes more coarse and curly, and begins to extend laterally [12–14]
Tanner IV
adult-like hair quality, extending across pubis but sparing medial thighs [13–15]
Tanner V
hair extends to medial surface of the thighs [16+]

Genitals (male)
Tanner I
prepubertal (testicular volume less than 1.5 ml; small penis of 3 cm or less)
Tanner II
testicular volume between 1.6 and 6 ml; skin on scrotum thins, reddens and enlarges; penis length unchanged
Tanner III
testicular volume between 6 and 12 ml; scrotum enlarges further; penis begins to lengthen to about 6 cm
Tanner IV
testicular volume between 12 and 20 ml; scrotum enlarges further and darkens; penis increases in length to 10 cm and circumference
Tanner V
testicular volume greater than 20 ml; adult scrotum and penis of 15 cm in length

Breasts (female)
Tanner I
no glandular tissue; areola follows the skin contours of the chest (prepubertal)
Tanner II
breast bud forms, with small area of surrounding glandular tissue; areola begins to widen
Tanner III
breast begins to become more elevated, and extends beyond the borders of the areola, which continues to widen but remains in contour with surrounding breast
Tanner IV
increased breast size and elevation; areola and papilla form a secondary mound projecting from the contour of the surrounding breast
Tanner V
breast reaches final adult size; areola returns to contour of the surrounding breast, with a projecting central papilla.

That 70s...LIFE

entering a contest over at http://therollerblog.com/ it is for the best 70s pics. I couldn't decide which I liked better...suggestions? No laughing!!




some of the happiest days of my life were spent in Mass. with my new adoptive family. This is my Aunt Kristin who was a yr older, Me,(loving the mickey mouse shoes!) My Uncle Mark, and my brother Ronnie.





oh MY! This was my Girl Scout uniform. The jammies...lovely!


not sure where we were headed, but we were kinda cute!



showing off (??) our belly shirts. Stylin!!





I LOVED me some Toughskin jeans!






Boy, we dressed cool back then eh?




thats me and my big brother Ronnie. He had a big wheel. No idea whose car that is.




Im the one ON the bed. The other cute kid is my Aunt Kristin.



yes, I am the dork in the middle of the dork parade.

Ibrahim Muhammad Agel

The acting director of a Baghdad psychiatric hospital has been arrested on suspicion of supplying Al Qaeda in Iraq with the mentally impaired women it used to blow up two crowded animal markets in the city on Feb. 1, killing about 100 people.

Iraqi security forces and U.S. soldiers arrested the man at al-Rashad hospital in east Baghdad on Sunday. They then spent three hours searching his office and removing records. Sources told The Times that the two female bombers had been treated at the hospital in the past.

"They [the security forces] arrested the acting director, accusing him of working with Al Qaeda and recruiting mentally ill women and using them in suicide bombing operations," a hospital official said.

Ibrahim Muhammad Agel, director of the hospital, was killed in the Mansour district of Baghdad on Dec. 11 by gunmen on motorbikes. Colleagues suspect he was shot for refusing to cooperate with Al Qaeda

.

Mr. Agel died to protect his charges. His replacement sent them to their deaths. Sometimes I wonder what God thinks about these loving and gentle people He has sent down amongst us. Surely, this is a test of who we are as a people, how we treat the most innocent and childlike people in the world. I imagine He is hoping we will learn by their example, have you ever seen someone with DS arrested? Me either. Obviously, the human race has much to learn about kindness and protecting the most vulnerable among us. The US cant scream too awful loud about the rights of these ladies, not with their blood on our OWN hands.

Alina Looks West

Alina Looks West

In her eyes
there is sadness
and hope
faith that something better
awaits.

Outstretched hands
grasping to hold on
invisible lifeline
cling tight baby girl

jaw is set
resolute
mom and dad
will come for you

Artemovsk is home
but only for awhile
home is where your eyes are
home is where your heart is.

Home.
is where you are.
Safe, loved, claimed.
Ava is home.

Innocents

Mentally Disabled Female Suicide Bombers Blow Up Pet Markets in Baghdad, Killing Dozens
Friday, February 01, 2008

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BAGHDAD — Remote-controlled explosives strapped to two mentally retarded women detonated in a coordinated attack on Baghdad pet bazaars Friday, Iraqi officials said, killing at least 73 people in the deadliest day since the U.S. sent 30,000 extra troops to the capital last spring.

The chief Iraqi military spokesman in Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, said the female bombers had Down syndrome and that the explosives were detonated by remote control — indicating they may not having been willing attackers in what could be a new method by suspected Sunni insurgents to subvert stepped up security measures.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the use of mentally retarded women as suicide bombers proves Al Qaeda is "the most brutal and bankrupt of movements" and will strengthen Iraqi resolve to reject terrorism.

The first attack Friday occurred at about 10:20 a.m. in the central al-Ghazl market. The weekly bazaar has been bombed several times since the war started but recently had re-emerged as a popular place to shop and stroll as Baghdad security improved and a Friday ban on driving was lifted.

Four police and hospital officials said at least 46 people were killed and more than 100 wounded. Firefighters scooped up debris scattered among pools of blood, clothing and pigeon carcasses.

About 20 minutes later, a second female suicide bomber struck a bird market in a predominantly Shiite area in southeastern Baghdad. That blast killed as many as 27 people and wounded 67, according to police and hospital officials.

One witness who declined to be identified told AP Television News that the woman said she had birds to sell, then blew herself up as people gathered around to inspect them.

The attacks were the latest in a series of violent incidents that have been chipping away at Iraqi confidence in the permanence of recent security gains.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said about 70 people were killed in both attacks, which he said were committed by terrorists motivated by revenge and "to show that they are still able to stop the march of history and of our people toward reconciliation."

Police initially said the bomb at al-Ghazl market was hidden in a box of birds but determined it was a suicide attack after finding the woman's head, an officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information.

Pigeon vendor Ali Ahmed, who was hit by shrapnel in his legs and chest, said he was worried about his friend who disappeared after the blast about 40 yards away.

"I just remember the horrible scene of the bodies of dead and wounded people mixed with the blood of animals and birds, then I found myself lying in a hospital bed," he said.

Navy Cmdr. Scott Rye, a U.S. military spokesman, gave lower casualty figures, saying seven were killed and 23 wounded in the first bombing, and 20 killed and 30 wounded in the second. He confirmed both attacks were carried out by women wearing explosives vests and said the attacks appeared to be coordinated and likely the work of Al Qaeda in Iraq.

Associated Press records show that since the start of the war at least 151 people have been killed in at least 17 attacks or attempted attacks by female suicide bombers, including today's bombings.

The most recent was on Jan. 16 when a female suicide bomber detonated her explosives as Shiites were preparing for a ceremony marking the holiday of Ashoura in a Shiite village near the Diyala provincial capital of Baqouba.

Involving women in fighting violates cultural taboos in Iraq, but the U.S. military has warned that Al Qaeda in Iraq is recruiting females and youths to stage suicide attacks because militants are increasingly desperate to thwart stepped-up security measures.

Women in Iraq often wear a black Islamic robe known as an abaya and can avoid thorough searches at checkpoints because men are not allowed to search them and there's a dearth of female guards.

In January 2005, Iraq's interior minister said that insurgents used a disabled child as one of the suicide bombers who launched attacks on election day. Police at the scene of the bombing said the child appeared to have Down syndrome.

A bomb hidden in a box of small birds also exploded at the al-Ghazl market in late November, killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens. The U.S. military blamed the November attack on Iranian-backed Shiite militants, saying they had hoped Al Qaeda in Iraq would be held responsible for the attack so Iraqis would turn to them for protection.

The U.S. military has been unable to stop the suicide bombings despite a steep drop in violence in the past six months, but the explosions on Friday were the deadliest in the capital since Aug. 1, when some 70 people were killed in three attacks, including 50 in a fuel truck explosion in Baghdad.

Rae Muhsin, the 21-year-old owner of a cell phone store, said he was walking toward the New Baghdad bird market in southeastern Baghdad when the blast occurred, shattering the windows of nearby stores.

"I ran toward the bird market and saw charred pieces of flesh, small spots of blood and several damaged cars," Muhsin said, adding he will no longer visit the Friday market. "I thought that we had achieved real security in Baghdad, but it turned that we were wrong."

The number of Iraqi civilians and security forces killed in January fell to at least 609, an Associated Press tally showed, the lowest monthly death toll since December 2005, and continuing a downward trend since the fall. The figure as tabulated by Iraqi officials in the ministries of Defense, Interior and Health was slightly lower, at 543.

U.S. forces, meanwhile, have expanded offensives in central and northern Iraq, seeking to build on gains against Al Qaeda in Iraq in the past year. But the latest campaigns also have driven up the military's death toll after months of decline.

Two U.S. soldiers were killed Thursday — one by a roadside bomb in Baghdad and another by a rocket or mortar attack on a convoy support center south of the capital, the military reported.

The attacks raised to at least 39 the number of U.S. troops who died in January — well above the 23 in December but still sharply lower than a year ago. In January last year, 83 soldiers were killed in Iraq.

And here is the rest of it.