{"id":40531,"date":"2017-08-14T05:47:22","date_gmt":"2017-08-14T05:47:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=40531"},"modified":"2017-08-14T05:47:22","modified_gmt":"2017-08-14T05:47:22","slug":"i-dont-think-of-him-as-down-syndrome-hes-my-son","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/lifestyle\/family\/i-dont-think-of-him-as-down-syndrome-hes-my-son.html","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I don\u2019t think of him as Down syndrome, he\u2019s my son\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018I don\u2019t think of him as Down syndrome, he\u2019s my son\u2019<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

\u2018I don\u2019t think of him as Down syndrome, he\u2019s my son\u2019:- So there was a prickle of foreboding when she was called to a room at the hospital and asked to sit down.<\/span><\/p>\n

Phillips is an English actor, presenter and comedian, but there was nothing funny about the scenario that followed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe doctor said \u2018I\u2019m so sorry\u2019, and the nurse cried,\u201d Phillips told The Telegraph of the way the conversation began where she and husband, Andrew, were told Olly had Down syndrome.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it was really clear that this was breaking bad news.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Fast forward more than a decade and Phillips, perhaps best known in Australia for her role of Shazza in the Bridget Jones movies, now has three sons, and is a staunch advocate for people with Down syndrome.<\/span><\/p>\n

And she is one of the Down syndrome parents leading the charge over a controversial new pregnancy screening test that can detect with 99 per cent accuracy foetal abnormalities including Down syndrome.<\/span><\/p>\n

The NIPT (Non-Invasive Pre-Natal Test) is a simple blood test and doctors are lobbying to make it free for all Australian women who want to take it, reporter Liam Bartlett revealed in an interview on 60 Minutes on Sunday.<\/span><\/p>\n

But statistics showing nine out of ten women who receive a positive result are already choosing to terminate their pregnancies have horrified many of the families of Down syndrome children, including Phillips.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fact is, the test could effectively end Down syndrome. But to do that requires the pregnancy to be terminated.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last year Phillips co-wrote and presented a documentary on the BBC entitled A World Without Down\u2019s syndrome.<\/span><\/p>\n

The documentary tells her personal story with Olly, and came about after NIPT was offered by the National Health Service.<\/span><\/p>\n

And as Australia grapples with the prospect of free NIPT, she is on a campaign to get mums and dads to think \u201cvery, very carefully\u201d when the screening tests are positive for Down syndrome.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJust be really aware that (by taking the test) you are getting on a conveyor belt towards the decision about whether or not to terminate,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that women who believe they are terminating for Down syndrome on medical grounds are being misled.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Phillips said she had no idea Olly would be born with Down syndrome, but has come to learn it is not the terrible disability many believe.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIs it a reason to terminate? For me personally, that\u2019s not a reason to terminate,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Her immediate thought when told about Olly was \u201cOh, Down syndrome, we can manage, we can do that,\u201d she reveals.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then … it was my second, third and fourth thoughts that were a problem.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As the news hit home, she remembers thinking \u201che\u2019s going to suffer and be in terrible pain, that my marriage is going to break up. Will I be able to work?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, you think all these things, you know. I didn\u2019t think I\u2019d be able to work. I thought I\u2019d just have to stay home with a dribbling baby.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She says the scenario was one of negativity rather than hope.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know any optimistic stories. All the myths, you know, it\u2019s not true, all these things are not true.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She told The Telegraph last year that after that first grim conversation at the hospital, she was expecting sadness.<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead, amid stress, denial and adjusting, the family also found laughter.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI just started noticing that it was funny,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, when Olly ran away wearing a Leo Sayer wig and outsized sunglasses in the shape of stars and you\u2019re chasing him down the road barefoot, it\u2019s \u2018OK, this isn\u2019t that different from work\u2019\u2026I mean, he\u2019s got great comic timing.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s naturally incredibly funny. Always has been.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She said while Olly might not go to Oxford University some of his achievements far outstrip those of others.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople aren\u2019t fascinated by the things people with Down syndrome can do better, which are: relate to people, be funny, be comfortable in their own bodies,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s the message she wants to get across.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you stop thinking about Down syndrome as a disease, then there\u2019s nothing to be sorry about. You\u2019re lucky actually,\u201d she tells Bartlett.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think of him as Down syndrome really, he\u2019s my son. You know, he\u2019s my son.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0http:\/\/www.news.com.au\/lifestyle\/parenting\/pregnancy\/i-dont-think-of-him-as-down-syndrome-hes-my-son\/news-story\/77c284948e1f8bec15f3f2d8004831ba<\/span><\/p>\n

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