Celebrating graduation with her mother who has Down Syndrome: a slap in the face of prejudice and slander
Izabel Rodríguez is 66 years old, has Down Syndrome, and could not be prouder or happier about the achievement of her only daughter Cristinna Maria da Silva (born without Down syndrome), who has successfully graduated at the age of 29. The woman, of humble origins, comes from a rural village in Brazil and only discovered she had Down syndrome as an adult. Her parents understood that she had learning difficulties, but they thought it was just laziness or a lack of aptitude for study. At 25, Izabel began dating José Ribeiro, her second cousin. The two married and immediately tried to have children, without success. It was at this point that doctors explained that a high percentage of women with Down's Syndrome turn out to be infertile. After several attempts, however, the couple managed to fulfill their dream of becoming parents.
via BBC
Izabel's life was certainly not simple: for her friends and relatives she always had "her head in the clouds", as if she lived in another world and, often, said she had imaginary friends, yet, none of her siblings or family members imagined that the woman had a genetic condition. Izabel can barely read and write, as her parents soon turned her away from school, after realizing she had obvious learning difficulties. Izabel has always had to prove to everyone that she can "get things done" and when she became pregnant with her first and only child, she had to work hard to prove that she could be a good mom. Imagine, 30 years after the birth, knowing that your daughter has not only grown up very well, but has also graduated!
From the very beginning of her pregnancy, Izabel's relatives were wary of her actual ability to raise a baby, so one of her sisters offered to help her during the first few months. Izabel has always had to prove herself for what she is, which is a loving and caring mother. Daughter Cristinna remembers: "Many people ask me what the difference is in having a mother with Down syndrome, but for me there has never been any difference. She is my mother." The only time Cristinna was afraid was when she was studying chromosomes in the seventh grade and during the class she revealed that her mother had Down Syndrome. She didn't know much at the time, but when the teacher told her that people with this syndrome cannot have children, Cristinna was afraid that she was adopted.
At this point, her uncle showed her photos of Izabel when she was pregnant and reassured her that in rare cases it can happen that a person with Down syndrome has children. Today a long time has passed and Cristinna not only graduated, but is also the mother of two children aged 10 and 6, and is currently expecting a third child. She admits that when she had her first child she didn't initially allow her mother to give him a bath, because she was aware of her disability and in order not to be indelicate, she did not allow the other grandmother to bathe her grandson either. With the second child, however, Cristinna wanted to remedy this small wrong, thinking that, after all, her mother had taken care of her perfectly well from her first days in life.
Both Izabel and José, say they are delighted that Cristinna has reached such a milestone in life. The young woman posed with them for some photos and shared her happiness on social media. Nobody believed her parents could take care of a little girl, but they did and Cristinna made sure the whole world knew about it.
Today, Izabel takes care of her grandchildren during the morning while her daughter works. "She is a very loving grandmother," commented Cristinna.
A truly amazing and touching story!
