Mothers of special needs children overcome challenges with abiding faith

Soledad López and Jimmy Alvarado pose in an undated photo. (Photo courtesy Soledad López)
 
June 3, 2019
Araceli Martinez
San Francisco Católico
 
Gabriela Fajardo and Soledad López are two mothers who have found in their faith the necessary strength to face the demands needed to raise their children born with special needs.
 
During a 2016 conference for disabled persons, Pope Francis said that “differences cause fear in all because encountering a person that has serious differences represents a challenge,” but at the same time he emphasized that diversity “is a richness.”
 
Gabriela gave birth seven years ago to Mercy María, who was born with Down syndrome. It was seemingly a miracle because months before she had undergone a D&C. She had been advised that given the complications of her pregnancy, a miscarriage could happen at any moment. The baby’s heart was not beating and there weren’t any signs of movement.
 
But months after the procedure, noticing a growing abdomen, she returned to see the doctor who confirmed with amazement that she was over five months pregnant.
 
After the baby was born her crying never stopped. A week after a checkup by her doctors, Gabriela learned that her baby had Down syndrome.
 
“My husband did not take well the news. He was very mad. We started to blame each other and to ask ourselves if we or the doctors had done anything wrong but geneticists told us that Down syndrome occurs at the moment of conception and had nothing to do with anything else,” Gabriela said.
 
Gabriela says that she cried her heart out but found consolation in knowing that children with Down syndrome have a better chance at development when they have other siblings. “They become their teachers,” she was told.
 
When the little one was born, she already had a brother and two sisters.
 
Her given name at baptism was Mercy María. “Mercy in honor of the mercy that God has shown us and María in honor of our mother in heaven,” she said.
 
Seven years after the birth of her daughter she is joyful. She recognizes the sacrifices and great dedication it entails but since Mercy was born, the blessings in their lives have multiplied.
 
“Mercy is blessing, a treasure and a gift. The happiness has been great in our lives. She is our companion for life. We feel that God sent us a mission, to help her out.”
 
Soledad López has practically raised her son Jimmy Alvarado, born with Down syndrome, on her own. He is now 28 years old and is the sacristan at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in East Palo Alto.
 
“Jimmy was four years old when his father and I divorced. I was left with eight children. Jimmy was the youngest one of all. But my older children provided great support and helped me care for him. Back then I had to be at work at 5 a.m. at a retreat center in Portola Valley,” she said.
 
Ever since her son was born, Soledad has fought for him against all odds.
 
“He couldn’t cry when he was born. The doctor said that his muscles were very fragile and couldn’t eat. He was in the NICU and had tubes in his nose, mouth and stomach,” she said.
 
It was only five days after his birth that the baby started nursing and once the doctors determined that he could safely feed on his own he was discharged.
 
“Since he was unable to cry, I had to make sure that he was fed every two to three hours,” she said.
 
Thanks to her commitment to Jimmy’s care and despite a poor prognosis, he attempted his first steps when he was a year and a half.
 
Soledad doesn’t deny the sadness she felt when told her son had been born with Down syndrome. None of her seven other children were different.
 
Despite all of that, looking back at the past 28 years, she says that she is happy with having her son Jimmy in her life.
 
“There are days when I am so tired that I don’t want to even get up from bed, but my love for him makes me get up to help him,” she said.

Gabriela and Mercy Fajardo pose in a photo April 30, 2019. (PHOTO COURTESY GABRIELA FAJARDO)