A Dumfries baby has her own Instagram page that was started by her mum in a bid to raise awareness of Down Syndrome.
Little Indi Gallagher and mum Stacey Kane are doing their bit to show people the “positive” aspects of the condition, and the amazing progress Indi has made since she was born last March.
Stacey, 40, said: “There’s still some very outdated views on Down Syndrome and I want to be able to educate people as much as I can on the true realities of it.
“Indi’s had a very tough first year but she is still always smiling.
“She’s a blessing and I really feel like she was given to me for a reason.”
Stacey said she had “no doubts” about going ahead with her pregnancy after blood tests and scans showed her baby had Down Syndrome.
Stacey, also mum to 15-year-old daughter Summer, said: “I was determined to have my baby and to go it alone if my partner had decided he couldn’t cope with it.
“Fortunately he did, and Indi has us both wrapped around her little finger.
“A private scan indicated there was something wrong and we were eventually told there was a one in two chance the baby had Down Syndrome and a one in 90 chance she had Edwards Syndrome or Patau Syndrome.
“After more tests, I was eventually told over the phone it was trisomy 21 – they never say Down Syndrome – and that I’d need to make a decision on whether I wanted to go ahead and have the baby.
“We didn’t know if Indi would have severe health issues, and we didn’t know what it would entail, but it didn’t scare me.
“As soon as she arrived weighing 5lb 11oz, it was scary how much I loved her.”
Just days after Indi’s birth on March 29, the tot underwent major surgery lasting five hours for an obstruction in her bowel.
Stacey said: “It was horrific. My partner Damian and I didn’t know what to do with ourselves.
“It was the scariest time of my life and after the operation, she was lying in the bed with tubes everywhere on oxygen, and now has a massive scar across her abdomen to show for it.”
Stacey and Damian had to relive the trauma again in September when their little girl had open heart surgery at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle.
Stacey added: “That was another six hour operation and she’s now got another scar down her chest.
“She’s been through so much but she never stops smiling.
“There’s not enough positive awareness around Down Syndrome and a lot of people still have outdated views on it.
“Just 20 years ago, the life expectancy for someone with the condition was around 30-40, but now it’s 70-80.
“I want to be able to help other families in the same situation as us because we were more or less left to get on with things and had to actively look for support groups or information on our own.
“Indi also has her own page on Instagram to show her progress which I started a while back – @ourlifewithindi.
“Life throws us curveballs sometimes and you can either take it on the chin and deal with it, or give up.
“We will never give up on Indi, and we’re determined her future will be filled with lots of love and happiness.”
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