Colleen

Colleen is our first born. She is 11 years old. Colleen was born with Trisomy of the 8th & 10th chromosome. This resulted in mental retardation and several other birth defects. She has had a host of health problems in her 11 years. She has had spinal meningitis, pneumonia 2 times, her tonsils and adenoids out 2 times, bone structure problems that required two surgeries on her legs and feet, tubes in her ears 5 times, sleep apnea that was severe enough to require a couple weeks in ICU and a surgical procedure to correct, hyper sensitivity to narcotics that resulted in respiratory failure after her last surgery, chronic sinus problems requiring two surgeries to correct and a host of other lesser problems. In spite of these troubles Colleen is a loving and generally happy child. She went into an early intervention program when she was still a baby. She now attends a local Catholic Special Education School. It was at this school she learned to walk around the age of 7.

Colleen has a very limited vocabulary and use both sign and spoken words to communicate. She can be wonderfully expressive even without words. She is a loving child who is always glad to see her cousins, Aunts & Uncles and Grand Parents.

Both my wife and me would be thrilled to hear form other parents dealing with Trisomy issues, in particular Trisomy of the 8th & 10th. This is a very rare combination and we welcome any and all input from all knowledgeable sources.