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Babies with Down Syndrome in High Demand

The phone rings…. 10 minutes later…..ringggg…..again and again.  My e-mail shows 50 new inquires….within the last 2 hours……ring… What is going on???

 Very simple.  This morning we alerted our CHASK adoptive families that a baby boy with Down syndrome, in California, is needing an immediate home.

 My name is Tom Bushnell.  I am the director of an organization called CHASK - Christian Homes And Special Kids.  It is our joy for the last 8 years to find homes for babies, preborn or already born that have any kind of special needs.  We are not an agency, but simply a matching service. 

 In all honesty, I must say that by a HUGE margin, the easiest child and most sought after are children born with Down syndrome….any age… with any complication .

 Today 90% of all mothers whose babies are diagnosed with Down syndrome terminate their pregnancy.  Mostly because they do not understand what a treasure they have just been given.  Sad.

 While it is true that living with permanent disability is a different way of life that is not for everybody, thousand of families wait in line to adopt a baby with Down syndrome.  No other children, with any other kind of medical concern, comes close to competing for 1^st place as  being the most desirable.

 Are you the parent of a child with Down syndrome?  I am.  In 1987, we had a daughter born with Down syndrome.  She passed away after open heart surgery.  Amazingly, our midwife contacted us about another family that had given birth to a baby boy with the same chromosomal difference, they could not parent their baby.  To make a long story short, our adopted son with Down syndrome, Jordan, is now 20 years old.

 Our experience is not unique.  After tasting the wonderful, giving, love that even a tiny child with Down syndrome gives away, I wanted more! Even now I’d love to have another daughter or son with Down syndrome. 

 If you are an organization that has within its power to encourage pregnant moms that have been given a diagnosis of Down syndrome for their baby, please let them know about CHASK. They are blessed to have been given a child with Down syndrome.  If the birth mom cannot parent a child with special needs, we understand.  Just give a child with Down syndrome the gift of life….and we’ll offer a loving, competent, home for ANY child with Down syndrome, even if they have been given a short time to live due to medical complications.

 Besides, I’d love to be able to share more babies with Down syndrome with my waiting adoptive families. (All homestudy ready, all anxiously waiting).

 We appreciate your work with children and adults with Down syndrome.  We support you and are glad you are there!