Turner Syndrome Society Christmas Party

My wife and I are part of the local Turner Syndrome Society and this last Saturday was the annual Christmas party and we had a great time. It was at Casa Mexico in Boise. There was a wacky gift exchange, gifts for the kids and dancing (including a hilarious rendition of the Macarena).

You don’t know what Turner Syndrome is? Well you should. TS affects about 1 in every 2500 females born. It is almost as common as Downs Syndrome, just the general public knows so little about it. With modern screenings, TS is now being diagnosed before birth. Although this is great, there is a very terrible down side as more and more doctors are recommending parents to abort these children. I take great offense at this. Not because of the issue of abortion, but for much more personal reasons. Before I explain my reasons, let me tell you a little bit about the TS women at this party. Although there were a couple of kids there with TS (whom you could not tell from the other children there), the majority where adults. One is finishing up her masters in speech therapy. One is a school teacher. One works for a local hospital. One is a social worker. One works as a human resources specialist. And one has even given birth twice. These women all live very full, happy lives. I cannot understand how any doctor can justify recommending terminating such potential just because they have TS. Yes, some TS children has health issues but is that a reason to terminate them? My nephew was near death a few times as a baby because of health and allergies, but no one thought they should just terminate his life. In fact we all (including the doctors) worked hard and prayed hard to save his life. TS is anything but a terrible life. I am very sure the women I met at the TS party would all agree with me. These are all very amazing women.

Why do doctors that recommend aborting babies with TS bother me so much? Well my wife of 25 years has Turner Syndrome. Had someone did that when my wife was conceived, then I would have been robbed of meeting the love of my life, my soul mate. Recommending aborting a baby just because it has TS is like saying my wife should be killed because she has it, and I take that VERY personal.

So what is the solution? Since it is illegal to take every doctor that recommends aborting babies because of TS and buggy whip them, the solution has to be education of parents. Parents need to be made aware of all of the aspects of TS. A doctor is going to list all of the possible health issues, but those are only possible. My wife found out she had TS at age 17. All her health issues where just written down as normal childhood issues. If you found this blog because you are searching for information on Turner Syndrome, I highly recommend checking out the Turner Syndrome Society of the US, the Turner Syndrome Foundation, or even contact me and I’ll put you in touch with my wife. The TS community is friendly, warm and very open to support and education. 

I am a 45 year old man who is affected by Turner Syndrome only through marriage, but I can tell you that a life with TS is a life worth living.

 

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Meridian Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting

Last weekend was the Boise Christmas Parade and Tree lighting. This weekend was the City of Meridian Christmas Parade and Tree lighting. (Meridian is a suburb of Boise which was named 1 of the best 100 cities for young people.) Although we didn’t get up in time for the Boise parade, we did make it for the Meridian parade (and since we live in Meridian, we had less distance to travel).

We staked out a place in front of Main Street Burger (great burgers!). This is at the end of Main street and thus near the end of the parade.

Here is the start of the parade. It was a little snowy but still a nice day for a parade.

I got a laugh out this. Apparently Miss Meridian is someone in a dog costume.

Now I found this set up a little wrong. Why does the Woman of the Year get the Corvette while the Man of the Year gets the Fiesta? There is just something totally wrong with this picture. And I wasn’t the only man to notice this injustice.

There were lots of pretty girls on horses.

And lots of old cars. I liked how they dressed this one up.

And a few dance groups. The only thing really missing was a marching band.

Spiderman made a special appearance.

And lots of floats.

And what is a parade without a garbage truck? Seriously, why did SSC entered a garbage truck, with a bow on it? How does this make a float? WTH? At least they washed it before the parade.

At first I thought this was a walking turd but my wife informed me that is was a coffee bean since it has an ad for a coffee place on the back.

And at the end of the parade came Santa. I loved his “rain deer”. Looks like Rudolph has been upgraded with more horse power. We had a great time at the parade.

Later that night was the Meridian Tree Lighting. Not having a park big enough down town, they blocked off a section of a street.

There were lots of different groups that sang Christmas Chorals. The only down side was that the microphones didn’t seam to work as I had trouble hearing them.

Seeing them was not a problems as they had setup a Jumbo-Tron!!!!

Here we are all bundled up for the tree lighting. And for the record, I love my cap and scarf. My mom made it for me and the scarf is 10 feet long.

They had a very special guest to turn on the lights, Santa himself.

And finally the tree. It was a grand day of Christmas festivities.

Is that a pickle in your tree or are you just happy to see Santa?

This evening while at the store, my wife puts in our basket a Christmas ornament in the shape of a pickle.  This brought the most inquisitive look on my face. She then tells me that it is a Christmas tradition and brings good luck. At this point, I am pretty sure she is just pulling my leg. I have never heard of a “good luck” pickle on the tree. She then whips out her phone, locates a web site and begins to tell me about how the tradition started over 100 years ago in Germany. How parents would place a pickle on the tree and on Christmas morning, the kids would get up and look in the tree for the pickle because the child who found it would get a special gift. A pickle, on a Christmas tree… who knew.

So, to summarize the events, this evening my wife informed me that she wants to play hide the pickle with me and the tree this year. This is going to be a Christmas I won’t soon forget.