Seven-month-old twin brothers with Down syndrome, who were almost given up, now living proof that having kids with Down syndrome is not scary, says the mother of the twins, Julie McConnel, 45. The twins, Milo and Charlie, dubbed as the 'Goofball Brothers' can guarantee to make anyone smile.
Parents Dan McConnel, 46, and Julie McConnel, 45, had already four kids when Julie got pregnant with the twins. They hoped to give their youngest child, Andy, 3, a baby sister, however, become pregnant with twin brothers instead, Milo and Charlie. Along the pregnancy, they knew that their boys have Down syndrome, which according to the Mirror, only affects both twins in extremely rare cases.
When they heard about the condition of the twins, they admitted they were upset. The worst thing has they considered the twins for adoption because they did not have the ability to raise and care such children.
However, now, Julie wants to break what other people or parents might think that raising children with Down syndrome is scary and challenging. Julie said her twins are proof that having kids with Down syndrome are not scary at all.
"Now that I have Charlie and Milo, I understand that and I have more compassion that I ever had before," news.com.au quoted Julie as saying. She also highlighted that children with Down syndrome are not the result of a bad lifestyle choice made by parents, or a reflection of economics or race or where the parents live in the world.
Wherever they go now, people love the "Goofball Brothers," however mom Julie was worried that this treatment would change when the twins grow older, and it hurts her. She said she wanted people to see that there are individuals who are different, but it does not make them any less valuable.
US National Down Syndrome Society reported that when a woman reached the age 40, her odds of conceiving a child with Down syndrome are 1 out of 100. However, the probabilities of conceiving non-identical twin children such as Charlie and Milo are about 14 in 1 million.
