At 43, a child with Down syndrome frightened me to death. After one year of multiple surgeries and many walks through the valley of the shadow of death, here we are. We made it. She no longer eats through a tube and she doesn't need breathing treatments. Although we still have the heart issues, this child has changed my life for the better. We as a family have grown so much and now feel like we are actually living. Almost as if we have been awakened by this beautiful blessing. Cheyenne has touched so many lives in her first year of life. Personally I have grown into a much more caring person. Although at times the pressures of issues felt like the weight of the world on my shoulders, I truly would not trade one moment of this walk with her. The fear of children with Down syndrome not being able to compete or maintain their lives is ridiculous. My daughter is nearly at speed with her peers, and had she not been in the hospital so much this year would most likely be ahead of them. The environment we provide and the Grace of God seems to be making a huge difference. Where there is love and compassion we find that understanding and growth can occur. Cheyenne is beautiful and so mild mannered, always happy and out of my three children the easiest by far.