Trisomy 21 / Down Syndrome

A third chromosome, where two seemed intended. A small genetic variation — and a person comes into the world who moves through life differently. The face carries recognisable features, thinking works at its own pace, the heart may be shaped differently. Medicine calls this a chromosomal anomaly. Parents, siblings, partners experience something else: a person who is present. With their own presence, their own humour, their own way of loving.

This text addresses two levels. First, the parents, the relatives, the companions — the people whose lives have been changed by the arrival of a child with Trisomy 21. And at the same time, the person with Down syndrome themselves — or what anyone can touch within themselves when they read the story.