Standing Ovations

I read a fabulous line in a book recently.   A novel called Wonder by RJ Palacio that tells the story of August, a ten year old boy with a facial disfigurement.  There is a review of it on this blog:   (Wonder) and I implore you to read it, it is just most brilliant book.

The line is “everybody deserves at least one standing ovation in their life”.

Isn’t that so true?   We should all experience it at least once.

My time is yet to come but on Saturday I listened to a speech that had me weeping.  Me and the other members of the audience.   Each and every one of us sobbed.   If you were at Britmums Live you will know the speech I mean.

A speech that made me turn to the person next to me and whisper “I am so standing up at the end of this speech”.    So I did.   And so did everybody else.    We stood and wept as we clapped and applauded the speaker, Hayley Goleniowiska.

Hayley was one of the Keynote Speakers at the end of the conference and the blog post she read aloud is entitled

“What to say when a baby is born with down’s syndrome”.

Please read it.

Please ask your friends to read it.

It is staggering to learn that there is still such a mis-understanding of Down’s and that parents have to put up with such crap from the medical profession and society as a whole.

Look at that pic of Natty isn’t she just the most beautiful little girl?  She is an absolute stunner and has already modelled for various publications.   Funny and bright and gorgeous and by the sounds of other posts on that blog she already has an eye for the boys!  Why should she be defined by the fact she has Down’s?   Nobody is defined by being diabetic or colour blind, it is a part of them, not who they are in totality.

Hayley it takes a lot to make me cry in public, I don’t even cry at funerals but boy oh boy did your moving speech do it on Saturday.   I truly applaud you for writing such an important and moving post and for giving birth to the most beautiful little girl five years ago.

We owe it to you now to promote your post to everybody we know.