After 22 years of marriage, Connie and I were blessed on December 8, 2012 with our precious daughter Abigail Lynn. You may wonder why I emphasized the “22 years of marriage” part. It is due to the fact that we are both in our mid-40s, have two teenage sons (19 and 16), and an empty nest was in our near future. Getting pregnant was not planned, but our excitement could not be contained from the moment we found out. Once the ultrasound showed a baby girl was in our future, the excitement grew exponentially. For most of our marriage, we had wanted to have a daughter and finally it was happening. We chose the name Abigail because it means “source of joy” and it fits her perfectly. Each day that goes by, just enforces the fact that God blessed us with an incredible gift. Abigail was born with Down syndrome and a ventricular septal defect (VSD) - a hole in her heart. We refused all prenatal testing for Down syndrome because it would not change our decision to bring our beautiful girl into this world. The issues with her heart were not visible on the ultrasound, so at delivery we were told about both issues. I followed Abigail to intensive care and the doctor coldly said “she has a problem with her heart” with no details on what could be wrong. It was the most gut wrenching conversation I have ever had with a doctor, and I broke down in tears when telling our family that Abigail had to be transferred immediately to Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in Saint Louis, MO. At that point, we didn’t know if we would see her again so tears flowed as they got her ready for transport. Abigail spent 46 days in the NICU at Cardinal Glennon before a joyful homecoming on January 22. During her stay in the NICU, a Facebook page was created to make it easier for family and friends to follow her journey. What we didn’t know was that the page would be shared to reach people from coast to coast and even outside the United States. Because of this, prayers and support have been incredible. It is amazing to see how many lives she has touched just with her story and pictures. Looking back, neither Connie nor I saw Down syndrome as an issue to get upset over. Doctors had warned Connie so much because of her age, that we were mentally prepared for the diagnosis. We know with Down syndrome there will be challenges, but Abigail has a strong support system of family and friends that will help her to succeed. As any parent would, we will do anything for our little girl.