It is morning. From the corners of our eyes we perceive movement. We turn and behold a tiny little thing doddering out of the bedroom; still dressed in his cuddly overalls, hair tousled and tongue pinched between his lips.
Cautiously he advances to a waddling gait, arms outstretched. He makes a tremendous effort to bend his knees to every stride and wobbles to keep his balance. He fixes his sight upon nothing else but the sofa in front of him as he crosses the Atlantic of a living room.
Inch by inch, step by step… At last the sofa is within reach. The little thing reaches out his arms and in a crisp little chuckle, flings himself against the cushioned edge. Immensely relieved, he laughs to himself at having accomplished the feat, and is completely oblivious to the pairs of eyes that are upon him from the next room.
We erupt in clapping and cheering. Amos turns his head sharply towards us and freezes in a start, and then his eyes disappear in a string of giggles.
This April marks a milestone. It has taken us over two years and Amos is finally walking! We told ourselves that once Amos crossed the two-metre distance mark we’d do a post and share the good news.
Most toddlers would be tottering by 12 months. This milestone seems so natural a progression that you wouldn’t find many who’d bother with muscular exercises just to make sure it comes. You hardly give it a second thought; it’s just the little voice in your head telling you it’s time to get squeaky shoes, to cushion sharp edges around the house, to install kiddy gates.
The 12-month period was long gone for Amos, and in the two years after, all the backbreaking trunk exercises, wheelbarrow walks, squat-and-stands, laps of aided walking around the house, and hours of muscular therapy culminated in a successful unaided cruise across over 3 metres of floor space.
Amos’ delayed progress is attributed to his hypotonia and regression caused by various medical problems that afflicted him in the course of his development. These factors set him back by more than a year compared to his peers with Down syndrome.
For that we could either sulk or persevere, and I’m real glad we chose the latter. Our journey with Amos thus far has given us more milestones to attain and more achievements to applaud.
It has taught us how important it is to celebrate the small stuff instead of sweating over them.
It’s tough, but it’s extremely rewarding because you’d end up enjoying life more than you thought you could.
The future remains to be forged. For this little milestone we rejoice with Amos, and look forward to more that would soon come our way.
And here we leave you with more photos of the magnificent Ambling Amos!
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13