This week I received yet another rejection message: We would love to have Caila BUT……..we….ummm….can’t…..
You would think after 15 years of being locked out from schools, camps, community initiatives and social events I would be used to it. It's simply devastating for me as a parent and for Caila too.
In Hebrew the word for BUT is efes which is also the word for zero. Basically anything that comes after the word BUT negates everything said before.
In this instance I was given a runaround by a youth group for months with promises that they were looking into it and working on it. Then finally a sweet little message about how much they would love to have Caila and then the word BUT.
The rejectors never met or assessed Caila. She was rejected because she has Down syndrome. Essentially, because they did not meet her, they saw her not as a unique individual with strengths and weaknesses, hopes and aspirations, concerns and trepidations. No, she was just ONE thing to them – DOWN SYNDROME. Assessing her, it seems, would just be too much effort.
Yesterday, March 21, was International World Down Syndrome Day 21/3 - chosen because it represents having 3 copies of chromosome 21 instead of 2. As a mom I pray that awareness increases sensitivity.
I beg you to all watch this video. Nobody should be rejected ever!