November 2000
Dear Friends and Family,
Our beautiful second daughter, Virginia Laurel, was born October 27th. We want to add a personal note to this announcement because we would like you to know that Virginia was born with Down syndrome.
In the past few days, we’ve experienced many ranges of emotion and have also learned a great deal about all the positive ways Down syndrome can affect our daughter and our family. Virginia is a beautiful, responsive baby and we hope you will accept her into your hearts without pity or reservations. Please don’t feel that you have to pretend that she is “normal” and please feel free to ask us any questions that you may have about her.
With our help, we hope Virginia will group up strong and healthy. We want you to share in the joy of her progress along the road to maturity. She may travel that road a little more slowly than others, but we will consider each new milestone in her life as a blessing.
Though our hurt and disappointment may still be fresh, we know Virginia is in our home and in our hearts for a very special purpose. Our lives will be enriched by all the special gifts that she was meant to bring to her friends and family. Her presence has already filled our home with much happiness. Please celebrate with us!
Amy, Alex and Katie
If you have a child with special needs . . . believe in them, they are amazing, find their loves, their strengths and be there for them. They may be on a different path from all the typical kids around, but that doesn’t make their journey any less important, any less meaningful or any less exciting. Part of our AT journey is shouting from the rooftops OUR KIDS ARE CAPABLE! Help spread the word and take a look at just how FABULOUS that little girl from the above birth announcement is!
2013, Virginia Laurel Martin Wade . . . . sassy, bold, saucy . . . and I could not be any more PROUD of her! Now, her opinions, drive, and persistence can truly drive her teachers, friends, and family mad, but I would not have it any other way.
Virginia is a firecracker. She has explosive energy reserved and with a targeted spark, she is nothing short of impressive. It was always my intent to believe in her, her abilities and her interests. It was my intent to help her always explore opportunities, to experience the joys of our world, to push the boundaries of her abilities and to celebrate the amazing person she is. Her list of accomplishments includes medals in Special Olympics – in both skiing and gymnastics. She travelled with us to watch the World Special Olympic Games and was able to meet both Team USA and the Great Britain team. She has won two essay contests, one about how she (a girl with Down syndrome) is like her friends, the other for an anti-bullying campaign. The second contest she won $1,000 to go to her school library! Twice, she has donated her ponytail to Locks of Love. Virginia walked across England with us, she loves to cook and she is a HUGE reader. She reads and reads and reads and reads. She loves movies . . . and believe it or not Shakespeare. She works hard, she has been know to argue. One thing for sure she is not a push over! She is a team player and we are so proud of her and so excited to see where she is going!
Virginia inspires me every. She works so hard, often on thing that she struggles to understand. She struggles to understand why some people expect so much of her, and others expect her to fail. She struggles with homework, with understanding the dynamics of social situations and she struggles with keeping track of time. However much she struggles, she learns more and more about how to navigate our world each day. She is mastering each piece of her life, and she is having fun doing it. She has more responsibilities than and higher daily expectations than most of the children we know her age who also have Down syndrome. She is on a very different path than her typical peers, but I have to say, the path is a great one. You shall see.
GIVING While considering giving and working with Katie, Cedric and Duncan, Virginia and I discussed charity, donations and sponsorship over several weeks. In the end Virginia was adamant about where she wants “her money” to go. Virginia was and is a bit of a trailblazer at her school. She is the first child with (for lack of a better term) extensive special needs to be fully included there. It has not been an easy road for her, or for the school. Despite the ups and downs (no pun intended) she has progressed, she has been a true member of her class (not just a token participant) and others at the school comment that the school is a better place because she is a part of it. Virginia feels strongly about her school family. Because of this Virginia has chosen her charity to be St Benedict School . Their donation page can be found at St Benedict School Giving. After a brief conversation with the school, it may turn out that the money coming in in her name will be put to a special fund to help the school continue to support children with special needs. I hope that fund will materialize, but even if it doesn’t St Benedict School has had a huge impact on the young lady that Virginia has become. She loves her school and is very grateful they embraced her.
In terms of the AT, the journey will be more challenging for her than the rest of us. I say this not because of the physical challenges, but because she is the only one that will not start the adventure with an abstract understanding of what we are doing. Her understanding of 200 days, or seven months, or 2000 miles just isn’t there. In some ways that is really good. No stress over how long we will be gone, or how far we have to walk. However, the first few weeks she will be asking when we are going home, and if she can watch a movie. It will take that long (weeks) to get her past that we are just walking every day. She loves to walk, and loves to camp. She loves hanging out, sleeping in a tent and meeting people. She is going to love the AT, because everything she needs is there. Her brothers, her sister, her Mom and Dad.
I want to recognize the two other groups that Virginia considered for her giving. Special Olympics (both of Washington – the SkiHawks, and Special Olympics) donations to any of them would warm our hearts. The other group is the Down syndrome community (DSC). She has loved them all . . . . remember to put the donation with her name mentioned and let us know . Special Olympics Washington . . . Donate here SkiHawks . . . Donate here Special Olympics . . . Donate here DSC . . .Donate here
The Road to Springer Mountain 
Hey, we’re stepping out the same day. Hope to meet you on the trail.