The first time I felt it was after getting the results of the fetal echo at St. Louis Children’s Hospital about 2 1/2 months before Moses was born. Hearing that his heart looked perfect sent a huge rush of relief through my mind and body, but instead of walking out of the hospital feeling light as 7-month-pregnant feather, I felt the heavy weight of guilt. 

You see, as Tyson and I walked through Children’s and saw kids with various forms of illnesses and severe disabilities on the way to get the echocardiogram of our baby’s heart, I was prepared to join their club. Even though the ultrasounds up to that point indicated the baby with Down syndrome I was carrying was healthy, I was sure that the other shoe would finally drop and we would find out that we were in for a rough time in the form of an unhealthy heart. 

As happy as I truly was to know my baby’s heart looked healthy, I couldn’t help but to feel incredibly guilty that we were getting off easy. 

Over the past three years, I’ve had that “my son with Down syndrome is very healthy” guilt quite a bit. Yes, we’ve had health issues with him: the scary RSV at 3 months; a heart catheterization procedure at 1 year; two sets of ear tubes; slightly elevated TSH (thyroid) levels. But on days like today when the only “bad” news we get from the doctors is that his TSH level is still slightly elevated and that he’s slightly far- or near-sighted (I can’t remember which!) and has a slight astigmatism in his right eye that will be rechecked at his ophthalmology visit next year, I feel guilty. 

He is healthy. Period. 

While we were at Children’s today finding out that Moses is pretty much the picture of health, I once again saw children with various disabilities and illnesses. I met a couple who’s 1-year-old son with Down syndrome had heart surgery several months ago, coded about 8 hours post-surgery, and are now “back at square one” with his heart and he is still on a feeding tube. I saw another little girl with Down syndrome who was in a modified stroller that could hold her oxygen tubes. I watched as her mother did something to the tube that was connected to her trachea. I saw a couple of kids with Down syndrome with glasses. I saw another boy with Down syndrome who was wearing a mask so as not to either spread germs or contract them or both. 

That’s not even mentioning all the other kids without Down syndrome that had different disabilities and health conditions that I saw as we went from doctor to doctor. Then there’s the infants in the NICU, and the kids in the PICU. The children in the Heart Center and the ones that are there being treated for cancer and other illnesses.

Since we left the hospital today, I’ve once again been experiencing that heavy weight of guilt of having a healthy child where so many others are not. As silly as it might sound, I’ve been asking God “Why?”. 

“Why does my son get to be so healthy?”

“Why does my son get to be so strong?”

“Why does my son get to be so cute?” (Obviously the answer to that is genetics, right?)

And then I had to stop myself from asking “Why?”. I had to give myself permission to let go of the guilt and just be thankful. Feeling guilty isn’t going to do Moses, those other kids, or even myself any good. Instead I should be telling God “Thank you.” 

“Thank you for letting my son be so healthy.”

“Thank you for letting my son be so strong.”

“Thank you for letting my son look so much like me and be so doggone cute.” 

I don’t know what God’s plan is for Moses. I don’t know what God’s plan is for those other kids. I just have to remember to trust that He’s in control. 

Remember to trust that His plan is always right. 

Remember to tell Him “Thank you.”