Two women pointed at a little girl with Down Syndrome - then a stranger said something that made her mom burst into tears
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Some people think it’s okay to point and whisper about others who look different from them. And that’s exactly what recently happened to a little girl named Sophia, who has Down syndrome.
She was sitting in a café with her mother, Pam, when two women did just that — they pointed and whispered.
But then, an elderly couple approached and said something to Sophia’s mom that moved her to tears.
Ever since Sophia was born, she’s had to face people staring at her strangely, pointing, and whispering. Sophia, who has Down syndrome, has gotten used to it — and so has her mom, Pam — but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt them every time it happens.
When Sophia was born, her mother immediately knew she had a beautiful, loving daughter. She just hoped others would see that too. And that’s why Pam was so surprised by what happened at the café recently — so much so that she felt compelled to share it in a Facebook post.
I was sitting in the café with my daughter, like we often do. Two women were sitting nearby and started staring and whispering to each other. This happens all the time — because my daughter Sophia was born with Down syndrome.
I watched these women crane their necks to get a better look, completely unbothered by the fact that I was staring right back at them. Today it got to me. It really got to me.
And just at that moment, a couple approached us, and I thought to myself, ‘Great. More people who want a closer look.’”
The man greeted Sophia with a high five and a handshake, and Sophia smiled and waved back at him. Then he looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, ‘I have a story I’d like to share with you, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to get through it without choking up.’
I gently encouraged him to go ahead, because now I was curious. This interaction turned out to be nothing like I expected.
He told me he had been watching the news the night before. There was an interview with a mother who had recently given birth to a baby with a severe disability. She appeared on the news to defend her decision to keep the baby.”
She explained why she chose not to have an abortion, even though doctors had recommended it.
He said, ‘The point is, you never know how someone will impact the world. You never know what a person is capable of until you give them a chance.’
Before walking away, he looked at me and said, ‘You’re beautiful. Your daughter is beautiful. Congratulations.’
I immediately began to cry. I sat there in the middle of the café and wept into a napkin. That man was the first stranger who ever congratulated me on the birth of my daughter Sophia.
He was the first stranger to recognize her worth. Her value. Her beauty.”
“In a world where people whisper about my daughter’s life, in a world where people stare, this man saw her significance.”
This story is so touching and beautiful. Sophia seems like an amazing little girl with so much energy — she deserves all the love in the world!
