“Hello, Son! I’m slowly starting to appreciate that you were born this way and not another! Thanks to you, I gained many new skills. Thanks to you, I verified my view of the world. Thanks to you, I know who I can rely on. I owe you a lot – I only realized it now, when you are 13 months old. And one more thing – thanks to you, I renounced the future. The most important thing has become today – tomorrow is less important. Mom.” (Letter 39)
By boldly telling her story, Wioletta Mikusek encourages us to embrace diversity, to celebrate life in all its shades and to see the beauty in every person. This message is also very universal and actually addressed to each of us – we are often unable to enjoy the here and now, being in constant pursuit of the perfect life, worrying about trivial things and carrying too many expectations in relation to world.
The great value of this unique publication are the extremely eloquent illustrations by Radosław Ruciński, an artist who has won numerous awards at international and national comic and satirical drawing competitions. The images provoke reflection and encourage the reader to interpret and find their own meanings.
– Our goal is to tame all the emotions related to the arrival of a child with intellectual disabilities into the world, which may accompany the beginnings of motherhood. Facing this reality is often very difficult for parents, and this is completely normal. However, there finally comes a time when Down syndrome ceases to be in the foreground and we stop prophesying how many things will be beyond the child’s reach and beyond our reach. The inner world of a child with Down syndrome is not significantly different from ours. And we can make the world in which it lives more understandable, one in which it can cope better. That is why we want to accustom society to the presence of children with Down syndrome, so that other people see that parents do not feel ashamed of them, but are proud of them. It is also a response to all those words that are harmful and hurt both parents and disabled children. Personal meetings and contacts help dispel many stereotypes. I am convinced that reading “Letters to the Son” can play a significant role in this – said Andrzej Suchcicki from the Association of Families and Caregivers of People with Down Syndrome “Modziej Kochani”.
World Down Syndrome Day, established under the patronage of the United Nations, falls on March 21. This date symbolizes the numbers 3 and 21, referring to the third, “excess” chromosome in the twenty-first pair of chromosomes, which is the main cause of this genetic defect. The name of Down syndrome, otherwise known as trisomy 21, comes from the name of the British physician John Langdon Down, who was the first to describe this entity.