Real Life

The beautiful faces of Down syndrome

“I hoped that my photos would be shared and that people would see how blessed these families are”

After Julie Willson from Linwood, New Jersey, lost her sister Dina Scoppa four years ago to heart failure, when she was just 35 years of age, she used her grief to inspire a heart-warming photo series.

The series spotlights young children with Down syndrome, the same condition that her sister had.

“The first 15 years of my sisters life was a literal roller coaster for my parents. Imagine thinking that your child was going to die by a certain age?!” Julie wrote in a recent blog post.

“Being a mother myself, I can’t even begin to imagine hearing those words.”

Through the help of medical care, Dina lived until 2011 and now Julie and her mother continue to raise money for people with Down syndrome and most recently, Julie honoured her sister’s memory with this gorgeous photo shoot.

“I hoped that my photos would be shared and that people would see how blessed these families are,” Julie wrote.

“I chose to do this photo shoot not only for my own pleasure but to help raise awareness about Down Syndrome.”

“I found out that abortion rate of those who find out that their child may have Down Syndrome is at 92%.”

“That being said, if I can help lower that abortion rate just by sharing my photos, then I succeeded.”

“I want people to see these children and know that if they are having a baby who has been diagnosed with Down Syndrome, they will be blessed beyond words.”

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