Shortly after we found out I was pregnant, my husband and I discussed baby names. I laughed when I told him, as a teenager, I wanted to name my future child Samurai, but Allen exclaimed, “Samurai—I love it!”
From then on, we called our growing baby Sam. At 13 weeks, we received a phone call from our doctor’s office, asking us to come in the next morning to discuss our prenatal screening results. I knew there was a problem and I stayed up all night worrying.
Our doctor grimly entered the room and announced, “I’m sorry to tell you this, but there is a high chance the baby has Down syndrome.”
I sat in numb shock as she outlined all the things that could go wrong with our pregnancy and child. Miscarriage, stillbirth, cognitive and developmental delays, heart defects; the list went on and on. She then explained where the nearest abortion clinic was. When she was done, she asked if we had any questions.
“Is it a boy or a girl?” Allen asked, and I remembered we would find out the gender through the prenatal screening. I loved him so much for thinking of our baby, not the probable diagnosis we’d been handed.
The doctor scanned her papers and said, “A girl.”
Neither Allen nor I knew much about Down syndrome and we set about learning all we could. Most helpful were blogs and social media accounts from families who had a member with Down syndrome. Despite the grim picture the doctor had painted for us, it appeared every single family had plenty of happy times and dearly loved their children, brothers, and sisters with an extra chromosome.
We moved forward with the pregnancy and continued to face negativity from the doctors and specialists we saw. With each comment implying Samurai would be better off not being born, our resolve to have and love our perfect daughter grew.
The name Samurai took on a special meaning as we learned our daughter was a true warrior. She thrived throughout my pregnancy, then overcame an early birth, long NICU stay, a terrible feeding tube, and open-heart surgery at two months old to repair her large ventricular septal defect.
We loved Samurai from day one and feel so lucky she chose us to be her parents. Every challenge we’ve faced has been outshined by joy she’s brought us. Today, Sammi is a smart, healthy, adorable 7-month-old, and we can’t wait to help her achieve anything she sets her heart on.
You can follow Samurai on Instagram at @samurai_aiko
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