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This story is about my sister in law. She is 1 of about 400,000 that are living today with down syndrome. While she has had setbacks through her life she powers through them and has made amazing accomplishments throughout her life.

Early on in her life because acceptance is not where it is now she would occasionally get teased, laughed at and bullied. There were countless times where she would go to the nurse/counselor and call her mom to pick her up because of what she was going through. Eventually she made friends and settled in with the right crowd where she was accepted and not made to feel like an outcast. Of course nothing is perfect and kids will be kids so episodes would come up all through out school but we managed to deal with it and come out with our chin raised. It was also at this time where she felt the need to let go of some of this anger that she had so in her teens she joined a karate class. She fell in love with it! She was a natural athlete as she always wanted to be out of the house playing baseball or basketball (her favorite sports) so another physical activity came natural to her. She has been training for about 10 years now and she just received her black belt! She was so excited as she burst into tears when her Sensai secretly wrapped something around her waist and she didn’t realize until she looked down and saw. It was truly a special moment.

As I said she is a very active person so this whole time she was training for her black belt she was also doing a number of other things. As I mentioned basketball is her favorite sport so she even played for her high school team! She was the first down syndrome player to make it on the team and although she came off the bench to play it was another accomplishment. To supplement her time playing she practiced all the time at the park. She had another goal in mind…to play in the Texas Special Olympics! She has gone on to compete in over 5 games and has won countless medals. Two big things came out of this, she was selected to compete in Ireland and she was recognized by Sports Illustrated and even had her own photo shoot!

She was part of a team of other special needs individuals that started their own jelly brand. It’s jelly but with a kick of heat! The team came up with recipes featuring apricots, mangos, apples and raspberries just to name a few. They do everything from growing/picking the ingredients to cooking and packaging all in a kitchen provided free of charge by a local church. They started selling at local events and was even offered the opportunity to sell their jams in the biggest grocery store chain in Texas, HEB! The brand is still strong till this day and was even recognized by NBC Nightly News as they did a story on them. She did have to step away from the company as it relocated but it is still going strong and headed up by another special needs individual who will continue to do great things! Check out Sweet Heat Jam online the products are delicious and you will not be disappointed!

Away from sports she is a very sociable, fun and outgoing person. She loves to dance and will never miss an opportunity to get on the dance floor whether it be at a wedding or a family gathering. She loves the holidays so when November comes around we love to visit shelters and interact with everybody and do crafts and also participate in food drives. For the past few years we have served food at soup kitchens and gotten to know so many different people. Christmas time is of course our favorite. We love to go shopping and buy little gifts and go to the Children’s Hospitals were we spend some time with the kids and give away gifts. We also volunteer at our church every year as they put on a big Christmas event for the less fortunate kids. It truly lights her up as if it seems a smile is glued on her face the whole day.

I’m amazed at what she has accomplished given the situation she was born into. It just goes to show you there really isn’t limits to what a person can do given the opportunity. She is petite but a strong willed person. I feel fortunate that I have been able to get to know a person of her statue. I am eager to see what is in store for her and to encourage her on her path.

Abe Liandro

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