CARROLLWOOD, Fla — Expecting a baby should be a magical time, but for one Tampa mom, she found it hard to find joy in her third pregnancy because of stigma.
At 12 weeks, Ela Hersberger found out her daughter Anna Rose would be born with Down syndrome. Even after she and her husband decided to move forward with the pregnancy, she faced challenges from doctors and nurses.
Now, Anna is 3 and thriving, and she has many talents.
“Can I draw with you? Would that be OK?" I asked, crayon in hand, as I sat down at the table. "You’re so good at that!"
Evidence of Anna Rose's artwork is everywhere. She also loves to read, play with picture books, and she cooks too!
"Your cup!" her mom said as she rummaged through the play kitchen drawers.
But when she grows up, Anna Rose wants to be a doctor. Her father said she would always show up in his home office with a pretend stethoscope for "checkups."
Ela said all it takes is opportunity and, "educating everyone around us that know they can learn, they can grow, they can succeed, they can be professionals, they can drive cars.”
Ela and her husband are strong advocates for people with Down syndrome, but getting where they are today was a journey that started when Ela was pregnant with Anna Rose.
“I was driving in the car, and my nurse called, and she said oh, your baby is going to have Down syndrome. Do you want to schedule an abortion?
"Just like that?" I asked.
Ela responded, "Just like that. Like cold, I was like driving and I was like wait a minute I need to pull over. What are you saying?"
After she spoke with her Husband, they decided Anna Rose was worth fighting for. Even still — they got pushback. Her midwife told her it was best she find someone else to get her through the pregnancy, and when she found a new practitioner, they asked about abortion again.
It became common at every appointment, stressing a moment that was supposed to be joyous.
“It got me thinking like am I doing something wrong? Like why would these people say that," Ela said.
When Anna Rose made her entrance into the world, Ela said, “The nurse whispered in my ear, and she said, 'I’m sorry she has Down syndrome. 'And I looked at her, and I said,' I don’t care. Is she alive?'
Once she saw Anna Rose in the NICU incubator, she fell to her knees.
“I started to cry. I wasn’t crying because of the Down syndrome," she said. "I was crying because how many people told me not to have her. And then I realized how many other people would not have had her."
But on the rocking chair near the incubator, a package with a note.
“Congratulations, she is welcome here. She’s welcome here," said Ela as she recalled what the note said. “It was the first time when someone acknowledged her life with joy.
That note was from a group called F.R.I.E.N.D.S.New parents can contact them and find support through their website.
Anna Rose had her health challenges in the beginning, even told at one point she'd never walk.
Her parents helped carry her through… and now she's a healthy and happy 3-year-old girl—running!
"She really has this gift of living a full life.," Ela said. "The life that we’re supposed to all feel and enjoy, and that’s what she has in her and she’s able to share it with everyone around her. And I can’t imagine life without her.”
She and her husband are Both artists.. and they started the “Don’t Fear Me” campaign.
"She’s just beautiful! And she is!" Ela said, pointing to the artwork on their wall at home.
They’ve photographed roughly 50 families with kids or adults with Down syndrome. They want to capture their beauty—let that be the first thing you see, not their diagnosis.
She hopes the campaign and the story of Anna Rose help other parents make the choice to keep their baby diagnosed with Down syndrome.
“You don’t have to fear this journey; it’s OK to have a baby with Down syndrome because the amount of love and joy they bring you can’t describe," she said.
“We’re ready for our visitors.”
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