"A Special Mother is Born" interview on "Catholic Answers Live"

Patrick Coffin the eloquent host of Catholic Answers Live, graciously permitted me to reprint an article he wrote about his daughter Naomi Rose who lived a brief but love filled life. He interviewed me about the blessings of a child with Down syndrome here. 

Wrap up of reviews and interviews for "A Special Mother is Born"

I sent out a letter today about the publicity my book has received and decided to post the links here as a wrap up of what has been a fantastic publicity campaign for "A Special Mother is Born" in case you missed some of the posts on this blog.

A chapter preview on Amy Julia Becker's Patheos blog Thin Places. 
Down with Love on National Review Online

Review by author Theresa Thomas at The Integrated Catholic Life

Interview on AirMaria.com's roving reporter on Catholic Online

Review by Rebecca Taylor on Life News

Review on Catholic Mom.com with a podcast on Special Chronicles

A review in National Right to Life News

Interview in "The Long Island Catholic"

A review in Catholic Lane; Why the World Needs Special Kids. 

An interview for Zenit. 

And one for Patheos which ended up on Catholic Lane

A podcast Each Life is a Masterpiece at Among Women with Pat Gohn

Nancy Valko is a registered nurse from St. Louis, president of Missouri Nurses for Life, a spokesperson for the National Association of Pro-Life Nurses, and a Voices contributing editor.She contribute her story to "A Special Mother is Born" and wrote this review on Voices, the magazine for Women for Faith & Family. 

A review by Examiner columnist Elizabeth Katheryn Gerold Miller. in "Celebrate Life" magazine. 

I was on various Catholic radio shows across the nation, including nationally syndicated Catholic Answers Radio Program with contributor Patrick Coffin,  SonRise Morning Show on EWTN radio, "A Closer Look" with Sheila Liaugminas,  and "Pathways to Learning" with Sr Marie Papas on the Catholic Channel on Sirius XM Radio.
I have been interviewed on "Faith & Culture" and at the March for Life on EWTN, "The Michael Coren Show", Catholic TV's "The Gist", "This is the Day" and for various diocesan TV shows. 

I have been conducting my own book signing tour in the Northeast since October, the highlight of which was my presenting twice at the Family Research Council. in Washington DC twice; First Down Syndrome; Death Sentence or Divine Smile? and I coordinated and spoke at this conference in January.Conference on Poor Prenatal Diagnosis. 

A Special Mother is Born Celebrates its First Birthday

CCC 166          Faith is a personal act — the free response of the human person to the initiative of God who reveals himself. But faith is not an isolated act. No one can believe alone, just as no one can live alone. You have not given yourself faith as you have not given yourself life. The believer has received faith from others and should hand it on to others. Our love for Jesus and for our neighbor impels us to speak to others about our faith. Each believer is thus a link in the great chain of believers. I cannot believe without being carried by the faith of others, and by my faith I help support others in the faith.

 

In 2002, I , the mother of two girls, became the mother of a baby girl with Down syndrome. It was something I never imagined I could handle, I rationalized that I didn’t have enough patience, that my marriage could not withstand the stress, nevertheless, one Sunday morning, while attending Mass halfway through my pregnancy, I heard a voice in my heart, which said, “You are going to have a baby with Down syndrome.” I doubted this voice, and tried to shrug it off, but a few minutes later, I was in the Communion line and the voice said, “I want you to accept this child as a gift from My Hand.” I accepted God’s will and His Body in tears saying, “yes, Lord, but please bring my husband along for the ride”. God used even my reluctant fiat to accomplish His will in my life.

 Four months later, Christina was born and the voice was proved to be prophetic; Christina did have Down syndrome  and was tiny at 5 lbs,but was otherwise healthy.  I was surrounded by an embrace of love. Phone calls came, meals arrived, and over one hundred people attended her Baptism, in the pouring rain on Mother’s Day. Their faith kept me afloat when I was weak, recovering from a C-section, dealing with her jaundice and nursing issues, as well as supporting family members who were still coming to grips with the fact that she had Down syndrome.

  My pastor connected me with the mother of a lovely 20 year old young lady with Down syndrome  who calmed my fears by telling me that Kristin was happy, working a job a local bakery, busy with family activities, and a godmother three times over. Another friend sent an Elizabeth Ministry package with a book and CD “Sometimes Miracles Hide” which was full of testimonies of parents of special needs children. My faltering faith was buoyed by a loving tide of support from my faith community.

Once I regained my stride as a mother, I began to notice that other mothers of babies with Down syndrome are not given such support.. I took Christina to her older sister’s softball game and brought tears to the eyes of a mother who had felt unequal to the challenge of bearing a child with Down syndrome, and made the tragic choice of abortion. My baby made this mother realize she had made a mistake; between 75-92% of moms who received a diagnosis of Down syndrome choose abortion. I resolved to share my story with moms  like this who feel overwhelmed, as I did, but who do not have the beautiful community of support I enjoyed. I learned that my doctors were not going to pass my phone number to their patients, so I took to the Internet. There I found a place to share how my little child with Down syndrome was a blessing to my family and the larger community. I shared how she was an example of faith by her simple prayers to God in times of need, her unconditional love of all those she met, and her boundless joy at Mass. Soon other parents shared their inspiring stories with me, and I collected them into a book A Special Mother is Born a collection of 34 stories from Catholic parents of special needs children who share what a blessing they are.

So many women have told me that these moving stories strengthened their faith, making them additional links in the chain of believers, and I am grateful to God for the grace to say “yes” to His gift of Christina a little girl with Down syndrome.