My mother had a cousin who was, during the era in which they grew up, “mongoloid.” It sounds like she had more than Down syndrome: my mother remembers Inis being carried everywhere. While still a child, Inis was sent to an institution 1,500 kilometres away. She died young. “But I’m sure she was well cared for.”
I'm sure she wasn't. :( But I doubt it was a lie on your mother's part. I'm sure she believed it.
ReplyDeleteThat must have been heartbreaking for her parents. I've worked with a lot of Down Syndrome children -- higher functioning than Inis, but I visited an institution during my college years where there were several very low functioning children with Down Syndrome. Something I will never forget.
ReplyDeleteTimes have changed.
ReplyDeleteYes, and thank heavens for that. Within my lifetime, doctors told parents to institutionalize disabled children--don't even bring the babies home.
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