RISE-For Women

08/19/2026

There is a ton of talk about and post-partum depression, anxiety, grief, etc. I want to continue the discussion.

I’ve said for years that struggle doesn’t always have a look.

This is why.

If we want people to speak honestly about mental health, maternal mental health, grief, abuse, anxiety, depression, or simply not being okay, we have to make sure honesty does not leave them feeling more afraid, more alone, or more punished than silence ever did.

07/25/2026

06/06/2026

What bothers me isn’t that someone made a choice I did not make.

What bothers me is the confidence.

The confidence required to tell millions of people what a life with Down syndrome is worth when you’ve never actually lived one.

You can quote statistics.

You can list heart defects, hearing loss, vision problems, developmental delays, and every challenge associated with an extra chromosome.

Those challenges can be real.

But statistics can tell you what a child may face.

They cannot tell you who that child will be.

They cannot tell you how fiercely they will be loved.

They cannot tell you how they will change the people around them.

And they cannot tell you whether they will be a blessing.

You made a decision based on what you believed that life would be.

That was your choice.

But then you turned around and spoke with certainty about what that life actually is.

You called Down syndrome a glitch.

You called it objectively sh*tty.

You declared it wasn’t a blessing.

The truth is, you don’t know.

Because you never lived it.

You never got to know that child.

You never got to watch him become a person beyond a diagnosis.

You never walked the road you’re now speaking so confidently about.

So speak about your fears.

Speak about your decision.

But don’t speak for my son.

And don’t tell the world what his life is worth.

That’s not a conclusion you earned.

It’s an assumption.