After mom decides she no longer wants to do it, dad raises the baby with DS on his own
His child is now in capable hands.
The birth of his son Misha was the happiest day of Evgeny Anisimov’s life.
After those initial moments of wonder and euphoria, the doctor broke the news to him.
«I’m afraid your child has Down Syndrome.»
Evgeny was yanked from the mile-high cloud he was riding on and thrown into a sea of uncertainty and fear.
What does this all mean?
Evgeny was devastated when he learned that his baby might have Down Syndrome.
The 33-year-old father recalled leaving the hospital in tears after the doctors informed him of his son’s death.
He was embarrassed by his initial reaction, and the tears quickly dried up.
«After all, nothing had changed in my life in general. I still had two arms and two legs. «My professional knowledge had vanished,» he admitted.
«I had my determination, activity, curiosity, and so on with me. My son was born exactly as I had planned. But the child is unique; his life and future are already very important.»
His sadness had given way to determination.
Evgeny realized he was being selfish and that he should be capable of caring for the child, no matter how difficult it was.
He turned on his computer that evening when he got home and began researching Down syndrome.
He devoured any and all information he could get his hands on about the subject. Fortunately, the majority of what he discovered was positive.
«I discovered that people with Down Syndrome are well-socialized in Europe and can live and work independently. «However, that had no bearing on the decision I had already made,» he recalled.
He had never considered abandoning his son, but his wife appears to have had other plans.
She wished for him to be placed in foster care.
Evgeny has always had a «good and trusting» relationship with his wife. He assured her that they would get through it together after hearing about her plan.
Unfortunately, she was unconvinced.
Their disagreement eventually separated them.
«Now I realize she was just scared at the time, and she started acting according to the wrong scenario, and by then, the rubicon had already been crossed, and it was too late to back out of the scenario,» he explained.
Since then, Evgeny has raised Mishka on his own.
Every night, he tucks him in, bathes him, and prepares dinner for him.
Despite the fact that each task is simple, the single father admits that doing it every day is difficult. He is fortunate that his mother helps him so that he can have some alone time.
Misha will also participate in a variety of activities planned by Evgeny to help him grow physically and mentally. The child has been attending weekly swimming lessons since he was five months old.
Evgeny is grateful to everyone who has helped him pay for these expensive activities.
«I understand that the future may bring more problems, but I am hopeful that we will be able to overcome everything,» the devoted father said.
Evgeny’s goal is to spread knowledge.
He wants to raise awareness about Down syndrome and assist families who are going through the same struggles that parents of special needs children are.
«I want all of the articles about Mishka and me that are being published right now to convey and instill that idea in society. «I also want to support and inspire those who are or will be in the same situation as me,» he explained.
