I was born and raised in Louisville with my 2 older brothers (Jason and Josh – yes I am the baby and the only girl). My father was a Home Builder and my Mother was a Registered Nurse and homemaker.
I attended St. Bartholomew for elementary and middle school. Graduated with Honors from Assumptions High School. Gained my undergrad at Eastern Kentucky University and finished my MBA at the University of Louisville. I have worked with Humana now for 16 years, which is where I met my Husband on day one. ☺
DSL came into my life at a much unexpected time. Our daughter Lola was born on May 26, 2010. At the time of her birth she was diagnosed with Down syndrome. My husband and I naturally were in shock of this and were not sure how we should or could navigate this diagnosis. That is until DSL came into the picture that very next day. Instantly providing us with education and support to help guide us along this journey. DSL connected us right away with First Steps so that we may get Lola the early intervention/therapies that she needed.
We soon began to attend the infant classes where we were able to meet other parents and to begin to develop new friendships that remain today!
Early 2012, we found out that we were pregnant again! We were so excited to be able to have another child and to give Lola a sibling. At 21 weeks, after having the T21 test (noninvasive blood test) we found out that our son Oliver would also have Down syndrome. Our hearts sank. This wasn’t the result we were expecting. Similar to our first birth diagnosis, there were tears, guilt, anger, and lots of unknowns.
However, we realized that we now had the tools, the knowledge, the support, and DSL family to guide us threw once again. You see, we already know the beauty of Down syndrome and the sense of “family” that exists in the Down syndrome community.
Fast forward to today. Lola is a smart, beautiful, outgoing, dance-loving, cheetah print-wearing 11-year-old. Oliver, is the smart, funny, quirky, million-dollar smile boy that just turned 9 in December. Time sure does fly when you are having fun!
Down syndrome is a beautiful journey we had never planned on, but would never dream of leaving because we know what it’s like. We treasure our experiences at face value, we slow down and enjoy the little moments in life, we celebrate every single milestone (big or small), and most of all, we celebrate life, because our lives are better with Down syndrome in it.
I have been a member of the Board now for over 2 years. My commitment to DSL is to simply pay it forward. Which is the least that I can do, given how much DSL has given to our family.
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