Everyone Has the Right to Slide

I read a wonderful book called Angel Behind The Rocking Chair. The author, Pam Vredevelt, has a son with Downs and shares stories of his life. On March 5, 2009 Nathan Vredevelt passed away. He was 16 years old. Nathan was at a basketball game with a caregiver and his sister in a luxury box, so when he asked to use the restroom it was no big deal. But the door was locked, so Nathan wandered out of the box, out of the building, and onto the highway where he was struck by a car. He was in critical condition for several days before passing quietly in his sleep.

Can you even imagine what the family was going through at this time? The fear? The questions? The heartbreak? And in this time of tragedy there were people who had the nerve to kick them in the gut. Some out of ignorance, and some, it seemed, on purpose.

The original article about the accident said, "Some people have asked why would he even be at a Blazers game."

Are you freaking serious?! Nathan had Down syndrome. That did not make him incapable of enjoying sports. Of having a normal life. Of finding pleasure in fun. That is just as absurd as asking why a 16 year old boy would be at the game. Because that's exactly what Nathan was. I cannot believe that people voiced such stupidity and spewed discriminatory remarks when a life hung by a thread and a family was shattered.

The comments left on that news article ripped my heart out. In re-reading the article, I see that the worst comments were deleted, thank goodness. But I saw them. I now know that people think these things, and it hurts. How many of those ignorant people are out there, thinking unkind things about my dear boy and others like him? How many people see my boy on a day-to-day basis and wonder why he has the right to shop in Wal-Mart just like they do? How many are upset that he eats in restaurants with "normal" people? How many think that my son doesn't deserve to be treated like a person just because he has a disability?

There are still people that judge others based on appearance and IQ. While these people are the uneducated ones and I shouldn't care what they think or say, I do. Their next target may be my son. How can I tell him or my other children to ignore it? How can I ask them to let it go? Words hurt, and judgment goes deep. Being a mother, I take offense when someone slights my children. If a kid pushes mine out of the way to go down the slide first at the playground, it's a mother's instinct to want to shove that kid right back. I don't, of course, but you know the feeling.

My son has a lifetime of bullies out there just waiting to tell him that he doesn't deserve to slide. And so help me, I'll be only too glad to push them to the back of the line.

My boy has Down syndrome, and I'm incredibly proud of him. He has the right to slide on this playground of life, and I'm right behind him every step of the way to be sure that he is granted that right.