Evie’s Story, by her auntie, Chloe
Evie is our gorgeous niece, an absolute light in our lives. She is our little ray of sunshine and brings such humour and character wherever she is. Evie burst into our lives 3 weeks early, this was much to our devastation as we were on our honeymoon and we missed her birth. Luckily we were due to come home the next day, after a 9 hour flight, suitcases still piled in the car we went straight from the airport to meet our little niece.
We were beyond excited and just couldn’t wait to bundle her up and smother her with love. It had already been mentioned the possibility of Evie having Down Syndrome, but during our visit doctors came to visit her mum and dad to explain. About an hour later, Evie’s dad came to us at the hospital coffee shop, where we had waited. He confirmed Evie had Down Syndrome and he indicated for me (Chloe, Evie’s auntie) to go and see Sophie (Evie’s mum). I will never forget walking back into the hospital room and seeing Sophie curled up with Evie in her arms, just stroking her head and staring at her.
At that moment I knew strength is what she needed and the understanding that all was going to be ok. From that moment, we have never ever looked back as a family. Evie has gone from strength to strength. She has achieved milestone after milestone. She has brought nothing but love and happiness to us all. Evie has taught us all to be patient, to be kind, to understand more and be considerate of everyone. She attends appointment after appointment and isn’t fazed, everyone that meets her can’t help but smile, because she brings such sunshine.
We had our daughter Halle in 2017, Evie was just over 1 when she was born. The girls have such a wonderful bond, they have missed one another tremendously over the past year of lockdowns. When they were reunited, they just ran at each other down the road and then dived into one another’s arms. The girls bicker like sisters but their love is pure. They really are the best of cousins. When Evie was first diagnosed, the unknown was of course really scary, so so many questions flew around our head. I am a teacher and I quickly set to work doing my research. I wanted to know all the ins and outs, the possibilities, have my questions answered and to be able to have some solid evidence and research to present to Sophie if she ever came to me with a worry. I needn’t have done any of that, Evie has just grabbed life by the horns and has been such a trooper.
Her parents have equally been strong, supportive and such wonderful parents to Evie. Being Evie’s auntie and uncle is an absolute honour, we are SO lucky to have her in our lives. We have made so many memories and we can’t wait for Covid to go away, so we can continue to make more. We have sleepovers and trips we want to get planned! Don’t be afraid, feel lucky and blessed, because that’s exactly how we feel.