com-brparents-2016-51.html
0916 SEPTEMBER
52 / 88
live / e x c e p t i o n a l l i v e s a nyone who has met eight-year- old
parish
webber knows he is a spunky kid with rockstar hair and a smile full of love. he likes to perform for crowds, front and center, which is why he recently enrolled in a hip-hop class. but what really catches your attention about
parish
is his never-ending joy. ?he is truly the definition of eternal happiness,?
says
brook webber,
parish
?s father. ??ere?s no beginning and no end to it.? and because of this, he has been able to impact countless people simply by entering their lives. a diagnosis during
parish
?s mom,
kelli
?s, pregnancy, she knew there was a slight chance her son could have down syndrome. before they completed an amnio test to confirm,
kelli
and brook decided it didn?t matter. ??ere was just some peace put in my heart about it,?
says
kelli
. ?i didn?t think about it again.? when
parish
was born, he did have down syndrome. however,
kelli
didn?t regret her decision to not do research before he was born. ?had i found out and done re- search before i had
parish
, i wouldn?t have gotten to know him as
parish
before i had him. i would have thought of him as my child with down syndrome,?
says
kelli
. ?riving with down syndrome
parish
has never let his diagnosis stand in his way. ?when he started pre-k, i was nervous,?
says
kelli
. ?but i was talking to his teacher, and she kept calling him ??e mayor.? she explained that
parish
was al- ways going up and down the halls shaking hands, kissing people, politicking. i got tickled; he is delayed in so many medical areas, but his personality and social skills are ahead of so many other kids.?
kelli
says
what he is learning right now and excelling in, the social skills and ability to form relationships with others, are the skills he will need to function in society and be an active citizen. impacting others
parish
has especially impacted the lsu ambassadors. because
kelli
is their advi- sor, they came together when he was born, raised money for the national down syndrome society, and participated in the annual buddy walk for down syndrome awareness. since then, the ambassadors have continued to participate in the walk every year in honor of
parish
.
parish
?s impression on others has encour- aged more participation in spread the word to end the word.
kelli
says
it is so important to speak out and address situations with people who say the word ?retarded.? ?i always strive to be educa- tional versus emotional because i want people to remember the lesson and not the emotion behind it,?
says
kelli
. our own journey ?not all children with down syndrome are alike. period,?
says
kelli
. while some of
parish
?s friends who have down syndrome struggle with things like leukemia and heart problems,
parish
has always strug- gled with his eyes. when
parish
was delayed walk- ing,
kelli
became upset and nervous. ?en, she realized he would do it in his own time, or ?
parish
time? as his family calls it. ?every parent has his or her own path,?
says
kelli
. ?i see some of my friends whose children don?t have disabilities, and they are dealing with issues i?ll never have to deal with. you just have to realize this is your path, and it?s going to be great.? what down syndrome did for them both
kelli
and brook have witnessed the positive impact
parish
has made on both of their lives in ways they never saw com- ing.
kelli
says
parish
has taught her to be a more flexible person and take curve- balls as they are thrown at her. brook has learned not to sweat the small stuff. ?ings that used to throw his life into upheaval don?t anymore because he sees the bigger picture. brook explains, ?milestones are things that happen regardless. ?en, you have successes, which you strive for. failures are things that don?t work out the way you wanted them to. and finally, there are hidden treasures. ?ese are the things you never see coming. ?ey come out of nowhere and change your life for the bet- ter. and that is what down syndrome and
parish
were for us?hidden treasures.? ? hidden treasure by madeline rathle 52 brparents.com | september 2016
com-brparents-2016-53.html