EPISODES

With all the chatter surrounding the recent videos from Shawn and Andrew East and their negative Down Syndrome diagnosis, we thought it best to chime in (with grace and compassion, we might add!).  The East’s have been extremely (and admirably!) open about their pregnancy journey thus far, but controversy arose when they shared what the media deemed “disappointing news” that their baby had markers for Down Syndrome, in their video, “pregnancy complications | the east family.”  Their next video titled, “answered prayers. | the east family,” featured the couple celebrating news that their baby would be born “healthy,” AKA without Down Syndrome. Naturally, the online Down Syndrome community went wild.  And even more naturally, the media celebrated this “uplifting update” from the couple. But how does someone with Down Syndrome or someone who has a loved one with Down Syndrome celebrate this? How can we jump for joy to celebrate that your child won’t be like ours? 

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Heather and Josh Avis (@theluckyfewofficial) here! This week, we’re answering a question that we get asked a whole lot! “How has having two kids with Down Syndrome created our family norm?” We should probably start by saying that we’ve never really been a family with “norms.” The two of us moved to Hawaii just weeks after getting married at the ages of 20 and 23. A few years later, we came back to California and adopted three kids (not all at once, thank goodness!). Macyn is 11 with Down Syndrome, Truly is 8, and August is 5 with Down Syndrome. Our free spirited nature definitely helped us adjust to the rollercoaster of these unique adoptions, but they still came with plenty of uncertainties. One thing we know for sure is that having two children with Down Syndrome has allowed us to know the fullness of humanity and we consider ourselves very, very lucky (hence our name, The Lucky Few!). So friends, join us for a chat about our 17 years of marriage, our family vacation in Hawaii, and how Truly (and all of us!) have been made better because of Down Syndrome.

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We believe that one of the most powerful ways to shift the Down Syndrome narrative is by creating meaningful friendships with people who have DS. But let’s be real, creating those friendships isn’t easy, especially at the grade school level.  Who better to talk about doing hard things than Heather Avis? Open and honest with her 11 year old daughter Macy’s friendship journey on @theluckyfewofficial, Heather is tackling this topic on behalf of all three of our hosts today. Alongside Heather is her friend Rachel Haack, a mother of five girls ages 2-13, an interior decorator, a devoted wife, a future clinical psychologist, and a true narrative shifter. Today, Heather and Rachel are recounting the friendship story between their 11 year old daughters. Macy and London are two friends with different amounts of chromosomes brought together by two very, very intentional mothers. These mamas credit communication, genuine desire for friendship, willingness to embrace the discomfort, and lots and lots of grace as the reasons for such a beautiful friendship.

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