Archive for April 25th, 2008

Alaska Governor blessed!

JIM LAVRAKAS / Anchorage Daily News

Gov. Sarah Palin was back at work Monday in Anchorage, holding a meeting on the proposed natural gas pipeline three days after giving birth to her fifth child.

She and her husband, Todd, showed their new baby, Trig Paxson Van Palin (their 5th child), to a few reporters and photographers and answered questions about his condition and the sooner-than-expected delivery.

Trig has Down syndrome, a genetic abnormality that affects a child’s intellectual and physical development, the governor confirmed.

“When we first heard, it was kind of confusing,” Palin, 44, said. She called the revelation “very, very challenging” and said she initially felt sad.

But the family has worked through that. Palin said she and Todd feel blessed and chosen by God. With a big family including four older kids, grandparents, aunts and uncles, Palin said, they will have lots of support for what’s ahead. In their eyes, she said, “he’s absolutely perfect.”

The oldest Palin kid, Track, is in the Army and texted his mother after learning the news with something to the effect of “This is just so cool — I finally got my brother.”

In a letter she e-mailed to relatives and close friends Friday after giving birth, Palin wrote, “Many people will express sympathy, but you don’t want or need that, because Trig will be a joy. You will have to trust me on this.” She wrote it in the voice of and signed it as “Trig’s Creator, Your Heavenly Father.”

“Children are the most precious and promising ingredient in this mixed-up world you live in down there on Earth. Trig is no different, except he has one extra chromosome,” Palin wrote.

As for people who think a baby like Trig shouldn’t even be born, look around, the governor wrote. Who is perfect or even normal?


Nascar driver David Ragan (#6) inspired by his brother Adam

Nascar driver David Ragan’s brother Adam happens to have Down syndrome. David and Adam have a wonderful relationship and are living proof that having a sibling with Down syndrome is a blessing!

No, that’s not Andy Taylor and Barney Fife next to the 1960 Ford Fairlane 500 — it’s David Ragan and brother Adam. More from ESPN here.