The Sun
Community

Oct. 22, 2002--High Desert group aids
families of children with Down syndrome

By MICHELLE LOVATO
Correspondent

Hunter is the fourth of five children in the Jensen home. He is an adorable boy, active and happy. The 3-year-old loves Barney, pizza and toy trucks. He attends preschool every day, plays baseball with a foam bat and bathes every night just before he goes to bed.

But one thing is different about Hunter, a small thing that makes a big difference over the period of a young boy's lifetime. Each cell of his body possesses one extra chromosome. And that chromosome makes Hunter a child with Down syndrome, a condition that will cause the lad to struggle with certain things all his life.

"When I first found out it felt like a ton of bricks hitting me," said Hunter's mother, Kriston Jensen of Hesperia. "Most people wouldn't anticipate having a child with a disability. Now that he is 3 1/2, I can't even imagine being sad. He's such a bundle of energy and joy."

Hunter is bright, can recognize 15 letters of the alphabet, walks, and looks like every other 3-year-old.

Jensen said education is the key to being thrown into the world of disabilities. One way the Jensen family was able to get educated about Down syndrome was through Down Right Special, a High Desert group designed to keep families with Down syndrome children connected.

Down syndrome is named for the British physician J.L.H. Down, who identified the condition in the 1800s.

Led by Baldy Mesa resident Gina Rendleman, the group is made up of families who share things in common and get together to share their lives.

"We're a group of friends," she said. "Parents of children with special needs learn best from other parents of children with special needs. That's where we get our information and our resources. We try to be there in a positive sense for each other."

The group includes about 50 High Desert families who meet periodically and share memories together. A few weeks ago, Down Right Special families decorated a float they rode the Hesperia Days Parade. About 12 families and their friends participated. It was the fifth year Down Right Special participated in Hesperia Days.

Each year, they are awarded a trophy. Hunter got to ride on the float with a lot of other kids. But once again, there was something special about Hunter. Not only was the toddler helping inform the community that October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month, he was also celebrating another recent honor.

For the second year in a row, Hunter was chosen to be included in a National Down Syndrome Society video program shown on NBC's Astrovision by Panasonic, which is in the heart of Time Square in New York. Panasonic donated 40 minutes of time on the Times Square Astrovision for the Awareness Month program, which aired Sept. 29.

Hunter was chosen after his family sent a photo of him bathing with his little sister, Kylie, 2. The video program featured 200 children from around the country and was used to kick off the 2002 National Down Syndrome Society Buddy Walk, a fund-raiser for the organization.

"Through a series of 200 photos, the show explores what things will make a brighter tomorrow: hope, inclusion, laughter, family, friends and acceptance," said Jennifer Schnell Podoll, director of public relations of the National Down Syndrome Society. The video ends with a public service announcement by actor John C. McGinley, cast member of NBC Television's "Scrubs." McGinley is the father of a Down syndrome child and is committed to building acceptance of people with the condition, Schnell Podoll said.

Jensen is pleased to see that she and her family can help with Down Syndrome Awareness. When any child gets recognition, the entire group is recognized. Jensen's husband Eric and sons, Logan, 8, and Tanner, 5, and daughters, Kaci, 5, and Kylie, 2, are pleased as well.

"We are so blessed," Kriston Jensen said. "We just have great kids. And all the other kids love Hunter so much. He's like this little angel in our family."

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