The Prowl

The Student News Site of Weston Ranch High School

The Prowl

The Prowl

My Sister, My Inspiration

My+Sister%2C+My+Inspiration

One day my mom and dad came home from the hospital with my baby sister Jayla. They told my younger brother and me that she was born with Down Syndrome, a genetic disorder caused when abnormal cell division results in an extra full or partial copy of chromosome 21. It’s the most common genetic chromosomal disorder and cause of learning disabilities in children. It also commonly causes other medical abnormalities, including heart and gastrointestinal disorders (www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/down-syndrome).

Jayla was born with three holes in her heart. As she got older, though, the holes closed up. They closed by the time she was two years old.
By the time she was three years old, she had started walking, but it was hard for her. She had to have a teacher come to our house and teach her because she had to wear foot braces to help her walk better, so going to a school was hard for her.

Jayla also had trouble talking, but as she grew older, she started saying more and more. When she first started talking, her favorite words were “mom,” “dad,” and “why?”. Jayla knows how to say all of her siblings’ names, but she struggles to say my name. She can’t say Jacob because she’s always called me “Bruh Bruh,” kind of like bubba or bro.

Although Jayla’s Down Syndrome can be seen, I think you can hardly tell. She’s just like everyone else. She likes to play rough and get into trouble. Right now, Jayla is ten years old and is in the 4th grade. She’s supposed to be in the 5th grade, but my mom and dad held her back a year because of her disability.

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I love my little sister, and to me, she doesn’t have a disability like Down Syndrome. She will always be equal to everyone around her, and that’s why she means so much to me.

 

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My Sister, My Inspiration