RE: Hi Again! To !

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Joyce Fledderjohann here, mom to three biological DS kids.(we have seven kids in all) Yes, I remember what a huge encouragement you were to me, after was born 11 years ago. I wondered for a few years now what had happened to you, and yes, it is AWESOME to hear from you! Congratulations on your first pregnancy. I pray that all goes well for you as you give birth to your son. Do you have a name picked out yet? Last I remember, you were interning for Doctor Fuerstein's Center in Jeruselum. My family moved from southern California to Lima, Ohio. My three DS kids have adjusted well, so I am happy for that. Our biggest challenge has been our last child, , as he is DS and has Autism too. We work so hard with him and he is progessing as a "snail's pace." He's still not potty trained and still does not talk at all, but we won't give up. Everything is hand over hand. It's all "one day at a time." We thank God for each one of our kids as each one is a special blessing from God. Thank you for giving us all an update. Take care!

Joyce Fledderjohann-wife to Mike 33 wonderful years!!!!

mom to:

-32, Leah-31, -28, -25-DS, -23, -15-DS, and -11-DS/Autism

To: Multiples-DS From: Sara@...Date: Tue, 9 Dec 2008 03:04:10 +0000Subject: Hi Again!

Wow... where do I start? I feel a bit strange about sending thisupdate, but it comes at the prodding of Judi and who I foundon facebook. (And who can say no to these women?) I can't even beginto tell you how often I think about all of you guys and your beautifulchildren. I have often tried to find a few of you on facebook to seehow everyone is doing.For those of you who I don't know... I started this group when I was14 after meeting several of you at NDSS Conferences, Buddy Walks, etc... each person thinking/believing that they were the only ones withMultiples w/ DS. A few years ago I was really happy to see how well itwas doing and felt I (as a non-parent of Multiples) should step awayand let the group be run and used by parents of Multiples only. Idon't plan to go back on that plan... This group still is and I hopealways will be for families like yours. In my opinion, very luckyfamilies!As some of you might remember... I lost a very special baby girl withDS who I was nanny for when I was 13, who inspired me to advocate forpeople with DS. Throughout high school I started and independently rana Buddy Walk, a Best Buddy Program, and among other things I was in YMProm Magazine for taking my good friend, Darren, as my date to theprom. (Darren happens to have DS and was not allowed to attend ourprom due to some nasty politics. BTW, Darren and I are still in touchand he is doing awesome these days as well!) I then went to the MiddleEast to start University and worked in a few orphanages for childrenwith special needs and then an adult program that was just starting inTiveria, Israel for adults with special needs. I also interned at Dr.Feuerstein's center in Jerusalem - the Center for the Advancement ofHuman Potential ... a really cool school for kids with DS and similarneeds. At the end of my college career I became an emergency fosterparent for infants with special needs... fostering several newbornswith DS and/or high medical needs. So here is my update for those who remember me. Hmmm... after collegeI entered the social work field and worked for a non-profit adoptionagency in NY. Working first as their special needs caseworker, then abirth parent worker, and then a supervisor of adoptive and birthparent services. I married Aref a little over two years ago and a yearago his job as a professor took us to Pittsburgh, PA. I continued towork with that agency to help them become accredited for internationaladoption.. with a specific interest in providing more opportunitiesfor families of children with DS in countries that considered thesekids "unadoptable." In my years with the agency we placed manychildren with DS domestically... and now this agency is starting tooffer services to children with DS internationally. We also counseledmany many more families with new diagnoses of DS to learn more, havehope, and parent if they can. This past July my husband's job took us to Minnesota, which is wherewe are now. The Midwest has taken some time for me to adjust, mostlybecause our move came in the end of my first trimester of pregnancyand I was feeling very ill for a long time. We are expecting our firstchild, a son, February 26th (or somewhere around there!). (Yes, just one!)And that's it for now... I'd love to connect with you guys again. If you want to do it offlist, feel free to find me on facebook using this email addy(Saragmail) or you can email me at that same place. Wishing you all the best....Sara Greenberg-Hassan Suspicious message? There’s an alert for that. Get your Hotmail® account now.