Tweeps Helping Peeps: Say Hello to Ty!

Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the second post in the "Tweeps Helping Peeps" series. Today it is my great pleasure to introduce you to a wonderful little man with a big heart and a great love for adventure. 

Everyone, say hello to Ty! Ty is 7 (and 3/4) years old. He loves adventure, loves his family,  and just loves life in general. Ty also has Down Syndrome. He is such an active little man, loves going to school (especially PE and Computer class) and loves to share his adventures with his mom who writes them down for him in her blog, Ty's Adventures. Be sure to check out all he has to say about his family, his friends, and life in general. You can go to the blog by clicking the image at the bottom of the post. 

Now I would like to let you hear a little bit from Ty, in his words. So get up out of your seats, stop your feet and clap your hands, and give a great big DaddyYo Blog welcome, to TY!!!!

I am 7 3/4 years old, that means I am the biggest, biggest, biggest brother in my house.  My Mom & Dad thought they would have a baby when my Mom was 24 years old and my Dad was 26 years old…ME!

Since I was in my Mommy’s tummy first, Mom & Dad did everything the doctor told them.  Mom didn’t eat anything she wasn’t supposed to, she didn’t work out too much, they took all of the tests the doctor told them everyone else was taking.  One of those tests said I had less than ½ of a percentage chance that I might have Down syndrome.  So Mom and Dad had more pictures taken of me in Mommy’s tummy but still did not find out if I had Down syndrome for sure.  I’ve seen the pictures of me inside Mommy’s tummy, they are so cool!  Did you know I was a baby once, too?!?!

The doctors tried and tried to get Mom and Dad to take more pictures but instead they went home and pretty soon I was born!  The baby doctor who first saw me in the hospital wasn’t sure what to tell my Mom & Dad since I had Down syndrome, but Mom & Dad of course saw me as Tysen, not anyone else and took me home.  

Soon after I got home all sorts of people came to visit me!  My family, friends, neighbors, and teachers. The teachers helped me to get stronger and stronger, see my muscles?!?!  I practiced and practiced every day until I could zoom around the house doing a Bear Crawl, ROAR!  Then right after my 2nd birthday I decided to start walking, right before our family was going on an airplane trip.  Mom & Dad walked with me up and down the aisle of the airplane, back and forth, back and forth.  It was fun…for me!

When I was 3 years old I started preschool at California Head Start, where I was just like any other kid and learned to ride a tricycle, spell my name and use the toilet.  Right before my 5th birthday I went to my first day of kindergarten.  My teacher did not see me as Tysen as my other teachers had and pretended I was not in her class.  I wanted to stay home and not go to school anymore.  I wasn’t having any fun, besides on the playground when I could run around.  I tried to run away from my teachers whenever I could.  I was not having much fun at school…

Right after I started my second year of kindergarten with a new teacher, I had surgery to fix my heart in the big, big city of San Francisco.  We hold our breath when we go over all of the bridges.  Ready, set, go!  The doctors did an awesome job fixing the hole in my heart and my leaky valve that I was born with, but my heart did not like it very much.  So I had to have another surgery to hook a machine called a pace maker to my heart to help it pump…pump…pump.  I have to be very careful to keep my machine protected.  Sometimes I like to make a really big deal out of it, just to see what people will do.  Hehehehe… but I’m learning that my machine isn’t something to be funny about.  Well maybe not all of the time anyway.

I started 1st grade at a brand new school with really fun teachers and made some good friends.  I even had an 8th grade buddy!  Whoa!  I think people at my new school understand and see me as Tysen, not some other kid.  I still have Speech class and OT class like I always have since I was a baby.  I like Speech class ‘cause it helps me get my words out when I have a hard time talking to my friends or teachers.  That can be very frustrating, ooohhh, I get so mad sometimes when that happens.    But I go for a walk to cool down and I come back to class ready to go.  OT class is fun, too ‘cause I get to move around and around and around!  Big muscles!  Oh yeah, baby!

I will be a 2nd grader when school starts again in the Fall and I’m sure I will have lots more new adventures and learn fun things.  Computer time and PE still might be my favorite times of the day, though.  They are tough to beat.  I do have times when my friends and I get mad at each other…like when I feel like a good bear hug in the middle of a story, and they don’t or they say I can’t do something by myself because I might mess it up, but I won’t.  All sorts of friends get mad at each other all the time.  Mom & Dad say it’s part of being a kid.  Well I guess that’s me then, because I’m just like any other kid.  :)

*Ty's story above is shared with permission from his mommy. You can read more from Ty on the blog, Ty's Adventures*

**October is National Down Syndrome Awareness Month! Get informed about Down Syndrome and find out what you can do to help those affected by it. There are walks being held around the country to help raise awareness. Check out Buddy Walks and find a walk near you. Get involved, be active, and make a difference in the lives of others!!!**

Tweeps Helping Peeps Logo Designed By: Chris Routly