31 for 21: A Day with Osiyyah

The Down Syndrome Association of Tulsa has opened up a few new sections for articles in their newsletter, in hopes that more people will submit articles to it. So, of course, I went ahead and wrote something up. Hope you all have enjoy it as well!

A Day With Osiyyah

On the average morning, between 7:30-8:30, through my earplugs, I hear the pitter-pattering of Osiyyah’s feet coming to my bed. He climbs up on the bed, I open the covers and he snuggles down in. Some mornings, he will be coming to my bed because he needs something, such as a drink, or he can’t find anyone else in the house (because they are outside doing chores). Most mornings though, he just falls back to sleep in my bed.

This is one of Osiyyah’s favorite past-times. When he gets up in the morning, he’ll tell everyone “Sleep mom and Sleep Da.” In other words, “I slept with mom (since he still sleeps in mom’s bed) and Qadoshyah.” It makes his day!

On the occasional morning that I’m awake and up before Osiyyah, he’ll come look over the upstairs balcony and tell us he went over to my bed, and couldn’t find me. He puts his hands up in the air, looks around and says “Osiyyah . . . Da?” In other words, he wondered where I was.

Most of the time, its fun to have him climb in the bed and wake me up, but there are mornings when I’m thoroughly exhausted. So, on those mornings, he’ll end up going downstairs to help another sister and mom milk the goats (which is also another favorite part of his day).

Nonetheless, it’s part of my day that I would never trade out. A time I’m sure I’ll miss when he’s older. And something I’m so thankful to have, even though it’s nothing I would’ve ever dreamed of 5 years ago before Osiyyah was born.

I was 16 years old when Osiyyah & his twin sister were born. There are parts to those 36 hours we spent at the hospital that first day that are such a blur and other parts that I remember ever so vividly. Like when my sister (14 yrs old at the time) & I stood in the hallway in tears between the Neonatal ICU & the room where our mom was, because we had just seen the babies whisked by to the NICU.  Just moments later our dad came out of the NICU saying “There’s some bad news. It looks like the little boy may have Down syndrome.”

At the time I knew absolutely nothing about Down syndrome. I don’t even remember if I had any preconceived ideas in my head. The only thought I remember was “That’s not bad.” And from that day forward, I wanted to do anything I could for him.

And so today, 5 years later, having him in my life molded my studies in high school and continues to mold what I pursue, study & do in everyday life . . . from helping him directly to helping other children with Down syndrome.