The title describes a long story-- so long that it’s hard to put onto this page. The story does not begin with Ricky, my brother, who is now about eight months. It begins with another wonderful story about my uncle. “Uncle Greg,” my dad’s brother, was the first “special” person in my dad’s life. Greg could do many things that other kids could do. He wrestled, played with his brothers and sister, loved ice cream and pizza, and the “Fonz” was his favorite character. Still, there was one little thing that was different about Greg. He had Down Syndrome. If you ask anyone that knew him, they would tell you that that difference was not a bad thing. Greg must have known the day he went to meet Jesus, face to face, at the age of eighteen, what else God had in plan. From that time on, Greg has been (and will be) watching over our family very carefully, maybe even more so now.

After our parents went to Italy this past June (2006), Greg must have been in my dad’s mind. It must have been him who inspired my dad to suggest to Mom that we should adopt a little girl (Yes, girl) with Down Syndrome. My mom later called an adoption agency. Amazingly, they had just heard about a baby boy with that “little difference” that Uncle Greg had. He had not been born yet, and there was actually a waiting list. Uncle Greg comes to the rescue (again). God had chosen us from the beginning to be Ricky’s family, but He then chose to let us know it. Richard Luke was brought to us on September 1st, 2006. He has red hair, icy blue eyes, and a belly that’s big enough to make him look like Santa when he wore his bright red Santa outfit. He also has a smile that’s big just like Elmo (because he opens his mouth really wide). His name means “strong light”. He has been and always will be the “strong light” in my life and the lives of all the people that he will meet.

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The support, information and encouragement provided by the PPFL parents is not meant to take the place of medical advice by a medical professional. Any specific questions about care should be directed to a health care professional familiar with the situation.