Quality of Life Week--Day Three--Laughter

Clenched hands, low birth weight, low-set ears, mental deficiency, small head, small jaw, heart defects, growth deficiency, low survival rate--these are some of the characteristics I read about children born with Trisomy 18 after Lily was diagnosed with the condition. I didn't see the positive things at first. It was after much digging that I began seeing that children with Trisomy 18 can even survive.

But I always wondered about what my daughter would be able to do if she did survive. I guessed she probably wouldn't walk, probably wouldn't talk. But would she smile? Would she laugh?

She does both.

While her smile is a product of her happiness, her laughter was more a product of tickling. That is, until she turned two. I'll never forget the day we were at Dave's school and Gabriel was laughing at me because I was being silly. That was the first day Lily laughed without being tickled! It was such a beautiful moment!

But it only happened on that day. . .until this fall when we were visiting my cousin, Bruce, at my aunt's house. Bruce was holding Lily, and Soleil was being silly, so we were all laughing at her. To our surprise, Lily started laughing, too! It was so special to me that she was laughing while my cousin (who doesn't get to see her very often) was holding her. Another moment burned in my mind.

Now, Lily laughing when other people laugh is quite common. She's been known to laugh with her therapist, even. You'll see below a video of her laughing with Dave and then another video of her watching funny baby videos and laughing with us at that--two very special videos.

I love it that Lily laughs with people. Her laughter is beautiful, contagious, and immensely spirit-warming.