Offers pour in to help Braedyn Stovman, mother surprised by hundreds of messages

by Sian Tompson from the Courier-Islander:
It did not take long for Campbell Riverites, present and former, to respond to a lonely little boy who just wanted to belong.
On Friday the Courier-Islander told the story of Braedyn Stovman, a 12 year old with Down Syndrome and other challenges.
He just wanted to have friends. He just wanted to learn how to skateboard. He just wanted to be accepted for who he is.
Brandi Morrison-Stovman, Braedyn's mom, said she has had hundreds of replies to her facebook page offering encouragement and friendship.
"When I read this story this morning it made me sick to my stomach and I cried," said Lydia, Mike, Chris, and Zach in an email to the Courier-Islander. "We as a family would like to offer our friendship to both mother and son. Our 18-year-old son is willing to teach Braedyn to skateboard, he skateboards all the time and at one time wanted to go pro. He is willing to spend some time to teach him."

Boy with Down syndrome kicks his cancer and brings smiles

from MSN Now:
This has to be the happy snapshot of the day. It's a photo of a young boy with Down syndrome and cancer celebrating the end of chemotherapy. Less than a day after it was uploaded to Reddit by user Kjr567, it had been viewed almost 837,000 times. "This picture has single-handedly made me feel the happiest I've felt for a long time. Thank you for posting it; and I wish that little man every possible success in his future," wrote one Reddit user. Kjr567 claims to be a family friend of the happy boy and said he's "always smiling." And now, thanks to his picture, we are too.  [Source]

Perscription for a Pet PigL "Twinkie" helps boy with Down syndrome

from Fox News:

A South Florida family went hog wild, after they were allowed to keep their pet.

"She calms him down when he's very agitated," said Heather Ray. "He does get very agitated easily. She helps as a calming effect to him. She gives him the acceptance that not all special needs people really get in our society unfortunately."

She is six pounds and totally house broken. She uses the kitty litter and is fully equipped with a tail that wags, and now she is an official emotional therapy animal for her pal Kason, who was born with Down Syndrome.

"I think that's the most important thing for me as a mother," said Ray, "To see him get that unconditional love and acceptance."

A dog or a cat were out of the question because Kason's dad has severe allergies. Miniature pigs however are hyper-allergenic.

Two months ago, the fight started at City Hall. "City ordinance does not allow pigs as pets," said City Attorney, Bob Goehrig. "Pigs are considered live stock."

Two months later, the threat of $500 a day fines is finally gone thanks to a doctor's prescription for a Juliana pig, Twinkie can officially stay.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/01/24/pet-pig-helps-boy-with-special-needs/#ixzz2IvhXrnVr

Lost boy kept warm by puppies

 

from WAFF 48 News by Marie Waxel:

A 10-year-old boy with Down Syndrome reported missing in Marion County overnight has been found (video below).

The family said Kyle Camp was watching television around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday before he went missing. They searched for him until 7 p.m. and then called police.

Dozens of volunteers and the sheriff's department searched for the boy all night. Officials said at one point, at least 150 volunteers were searching for the boy.

Marion County Sheriff's Department, all surrounding fire departments, and Hackleburg Police assisted in the search.

A State Trooper helicopter was deployed overnight to search for Kyle, and went up again at 8 a.m. Wednesday.

The search encompassed a mile and a half perimeter. Volunteers searched until 5 a.m. and then continued at 7 a.m.

A volunteer searcher said he followed his family dog along a creek in thick brush and found the dog's puppies with the boy around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.

"I heard the dogs barking again and followed him down there and started hollering for the puppies and I hollered for him and he hollered back. He was in the creek about a half a mile over the ridge," said searcher Jamie Swinney.

Swinney said he volunteered to help because he has kids of his own and that made being part of the reunion even sweeter.

"The main thing was getting him to his dad. That's where I wanted to get him to was to his dad. When I found him I asked if he was alright and he said yeah, he said he just wanted to go home," Swinney said.

Officials said the boy was wet and had no shoes. They think the puppies kept him warm overnight.

As Kyle was being treated for minor scrapes and bruises at a hospital in Hamilton, his brother Chris Bailey stopped to thank the friends and perfect strangers who helped bring Kyle home.

"Thank you, thank you so much. I had people from work, as many people as I could get together. Just thank you, it's amazing we could all come together like this," Bailey said.

"It was amazing how many people came together to look, because we couldn't have gotten it all on our own. It's just amazing the community is that close to each other," Bailey added.

Another rescue searcher said the turnout of volunteers didn't surprise him.

"It actually shows how great the community is. Everybody can pull together and come as one just to make sure one is found, I mean the community is great. I love Hackleburg," Joshua James said.

Kyle was treated for scrapes and bruises at the hospital and is expected to be ok.

WAFF-TV: News, Weather and Sports for Huntsville, ALWAFF-TV: News, Weather and Sports for Huntsville, AL

Role model: Down's syndrome boy, 4, to star in Marks & Spencer Christmas magazine

by Richard Smith from Mirror:Proud mum posted message on shop's Facebook saying Seb "charms the pants off everyone he meets and his little face is full of magic and mischief"Little Seb White is a good advert for positive attitudes.
The four-year-old’s mum had noticed how rarely Down’s syndrome kids featured in fashion shoots.
So she wrote to Marks & Spencer offering him as a model and to her delight the company said yes.
Seb will star in the M&S Christmas magazine. Proud mum Caroline, 39, who contacted the firm on Facebook, said yesterday: “He shows being ‘different’ isn’t any less wonderful – or even different.”
Mum-of-two Caroline added: “When Seb was born I vividly remember seeing lots of ads with hundreds of beautifully perfect kids in them and it just added to my sense of isolation.
“Then in July when we were shopping for Seb’s school uniform it occurred to me again that all the ‘different’ children out there are just not represented.”
Caroline, of Bath, Somerset, posted a message on M&S’s Facebook page saying: “Seb has striking, unusual features, charms the pants off everyone he meets and his little face is full of magic and mischief. So here’s the thing. He also happens to have Down’s syndrome. When he was born I was shocked to my core.
"I knew nothing about the condition and what should have been the happiest day of my life turned out to be the worst.
“I could never have imagined how excited and proud I would feel about him starting mainstream school in a couple of weeks. I wouldn’t swap him for the world.”
Product manager Caroline and husband Simon, 36, manager at a toiletries company, received a message asking them to call the store giant.
Seb – who started school last week – was invited to a photoshoot in London.An M&S spokesman said: “We always look for kids who have fun in front of the camera and Sebastian was a pleasure to work with. We are really looking forward to seeing Sebastian in our Christmas magazine.”