“Our kids have brought a light into our life we never knew we were missing”

Rosin Hamill and Aoife Tyre had extremely relaxed and smooth pregnancies and were looking forward to completing and starting their families respectively.

The sisters were scanned regularly throughout their pregnancies but nothing of note was ever picked up and both of their children were diagnosed with Down Syndrome at birth.

“Aoife is my only sister and we were looking forward to our children having a close bond,” Rosin said. “We didn’t know what our journey was going to be at that stage. I knew as soon as Zara was born, instantly as soon as I saw her, that she had Down Syndrome.”

Zara spent some time in the neo-natal unit and Tiernan was born just three days after she was released from hospital.

“It was amazing, it was all such a whirlwind as I couldn’t wait for my sister to have her first baby anyway. There were some indications that he also had Down Syndrome and Tiernan was formally diagnosed on World Down Syndrome Day.

“We knew then we had double the fun and life moved on from there, we just took everything in our stride. “

The sisters immediately signed up to the Foyle Down Syndrome Trust and Rosin said the support and friendships they have forged through the organisation have been invaluable.

“They have provided the most amazing support and the most amazing network of people who have been able to share so much knowledge about what the future holds for our two children.”

Rosin said they threw themselves into all the groups and programmes on offer with the Trust.

“Their determination would really surprise you and we can see the benefit of them both being together. The two of them are so individual, like every other child their personalities are completely different, but they are just brilliant.

“Even though they have had challenges in their lives and will face further challenges they have come out of it all smiling. Down Syndrome doesn’t define who they are they are just fantastic and amazing together.”

Rosin said having Zara and Tiernan in her life has helped her slow down and appreciate the smaller things in life.

“Our pace of life is so fast. Whenever you have a child that needs that extra wee bit of care and attention you slow down with them, you get to see the magic.

“They have brought a life to our lives we never knew we were missing. There isn’t a day that goes by when we don’t have a laugh and a giggle thanks to the kids.

“It is amazing to watch their progress. They don’t develop like typical children, our children might be a wee step behind, but the future is very bright for them.

“They are extra fabulous and they will miss out on nothing in life.”