31 for 21 day 4

When Ruby was born I didn't know much about Down syndrome.I knew that Ruby might have heart defects and would have a mental disability.I was surprised and discouraged when I started reading about all the health problems that are possible.Here is a list of some of the health problems that are possible:

Heart defects
Leukemia
Respiratory infections(this used to be one of the most common causes of early death) Thank you Lord for antibiotics!
Gastrointestinal tract obstruction
Hearing loss
Eye abnormalities (almost 70 percent  have some type of eye problem) Early eye exams are very important!
Severe constipaton
Hirschsprung's disease(absence of nerves in the colon)
Gastroesophogeal reflux
Orthopedic problems
Seizures


Some facts about Down syndrome
Down syndrome is really the only trisomy compatible with life. Only two other trisomies have been observed in babies born alive (trisomies 13 and 18), but babies born with these trisomies have only a 5% chance of surviving longer than one year.

In 90% of Trisomy 21 cases, the additional chromosome comes from the mother's egg rather than the father's sperm.

Down syndrome is the most common genetic disorder caused by a chromosomal abnormality. It affects 1 out of every 800 to 1,000 babies.

Down syndrome was originally described in 1866 by John Langdon Down. It wasn't until 1959 that a French doctor, named Jerome Lejeune, discovered it was caused by the inheritance of an extra chromosome 21.

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