An Update on Carter: Down Syndrome Awareness Month

Carter surprised his family with a Down Syndrome diagnosis at birth. You can read Pure Love-A Letter to Carter, a letter from his mother, Ashley. She shares her thoughts, worries, and love to her son. The Carter Outfit is named after this little miracle boy and we continue to share his story to give others in similar situations hope and peace. Ashley has shared an update on their journey so far and the pure love Carter has continue to share through his life. 

Carter is 16 months now! He is an absolute joy and such a special part of our family. You can ask any of the kids, Carter is the favorite. He’s happy 99% of the time and always has the biggest smile on his face. I look back to when he was born, it was really hard. So many unknowns and fears. I was mourning the baby boy I thought I was going to have. Now, I can’t imagine our life without Carter. He was always meant to be here. God knew exactly what he was doing when he sent him to our home. Every day I feel so honored that God chose our family to send Carter to. 

Many children with Down Syndrome struggle health-wise, but Carter has done so well. We haven’t had any health scares or ER visits which we are so thankful for. Back in April of this year he had his first surgery to fix a hole in his soft pallet. He did incredible. It was a short two day stay at the hospital. He was such a champ. I was really nervous going into it, worried about him being sedated and not being able to be with him during the surgery. I remember having a really hard time the night before, I just broke down. I didn’t want anything bad to happen to him. I knelt down and offered up a thoughtful pray and asked for peace. That peace was immediate, I knew that he would be okay. 

Although, there are still so many unknowns with Carter, we just take it day by day. We love him no matter what and are so excited to see all the amazing things he’ll do in this life, the people he’ll touch and inspire, and for all the lessons that we are going to learn from this little guy.