Utah Mom’s Post About Daughter With Down Syndrome Goes Viral
Feb 27, 2019, 10:04 PM | Updated: 10:31 pm
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — It was not the pregnancy Jessica and Josh Egan planned —and they could not be happier about it.
The Utah couple learned they were pregnant early last year and like so many new parents, curiosity about their baby’s gender set in.
“At 11 weeks we took the blood test to find out the gender and I didn’t even think about the genetic part,” Jessica Egan said. “It was just like ‘oh that doesn’t even matter’ ya know.”
The NIPT, noninvasive prenatal testing, is a blood test used to screen for chromosomal conditions including Down syndrome. It can also be used to predict a baby’s gender.
After taking the test, Egan received a call from her doctor with the results.
“I was told my baby for sure has Down syndrome,” she said.
The news was not something they expected to hear but after a few days of learning more about the condition, they changed their attitude about the situation.
“We just decided we were tired of being sad… because it was our first baby,” she said.
In mid-December their happiness grew as their bundle of joy made her entrance. Jessica took her love and appreciation for their new baby to Facebook with a creative post reviewing their special delivery.
When I placed my order I said, “Regular amount of chromosomes, please!” That’s what everyone else got and what I wanted…
Posted by Jessica Young Egan on Sunday, February 24, 2019
The post was liked more than 145,000 times in three days. As a result, the couple connected with families like them, all over the world.
“The love and support we have received is great. It just goes to show really how common this diagnosis is,” Josh Egan.
“When I placed my order I said, “Regular amount of chromosomes, please!” That’s what everyone else got and what I wanted too. They called me shortly after my order was in production and said “Great news, we went ahead and upgraded you to extra chromosomes for free! You’ll receive the extra chromosomes with your completed order in 9 months.” What?! I was mad! All the other orders I had seen displayed via perfect Instagram posts did NOT have extra chromosomes. Well I decided that receiving my order with extra chromosomes was better than not receiving an order at all, so I settled in to wait for this surprise upgrade to arrive. I have now had my order for two months and am writing this review to let others know the upgrade to extra chromosomes is amazing!! If offered, definitely take it! I posted some photos below of the finished product and you can see the extra chromosome is so worth it – it is extra cute, extra special, and extra-ordinary! So much extra joy. Would purchase again for sure 😬 💛💙💛💙#sweetgwendolyn #t21 #theluckyfew #upsyndrome #extrachromosome #nothingdownaboutit”
They hope their message about love and acceptance continues to spread.
“It is okay if it’s not perfect. Maybe if it’s not perfect, that’s upgraded,” Jessica said.
