Our Story's Story

"She has Down syndrome."

Those four words changed my life forever. And, if I must admit, I had thought not for the better. All I could think of was all the things my little baby girl would never be able to do and how difficult her life would be. But sweet Adella, changed my mind and, more importantly, my heart. She taught me that a broken heart is an open heart; open  to more - more to give, more to receive and more to love.

When Adella was about 6 months old, we met an elderly woman in the grocery store. She looked as though she hadn’t smiled in decades. As we walked past her, she glanced at my Adella, who, in her true nature, smiled and just beamed at this angry-looking woman. To my surprise, the woman’s rigid, angry frown began to melt away and she smiled—a big beautiful smile! As I watched with pride and amazement, I couldn’t help looking at Adella and wondering, “How did she do that?”

It has been a number of years since that day, but Adella has continued to spread her love to countless numbers of people. She has an ability that is hard to describe and impossible to duplicate. 

The I Am Different - Just Like You! children's book is inspired by that ability. It is our hope that through this campaign, the minds and hearts of others will also be opened. Opened to see that differences aren't bad and that the differently-abled are more alike than different. And most importantly, opened to love.