Everyone Kept Asking Me the Same Question

So Before I Share Her Birthday Photos, Here’s the Real Story About Emma

Everyone kept asking me the same question yesterday…

“Did you take the Down syndrome test?”

Before I share her birthday photos, before the balloons and smiles and cake, I want to tell you the real story about Emma — my one-in-a-million birthday girl.

The Question That Came Flooding In

Yesterday on my story, I shared that Emma had a Down syndrome birth diagnosis.

Almost immediately, my inbox filled up. Message after message. Different words, same meaning.

“Did you take the test?”
“Did you know ahead of time?”
“Was it a surprise?”

I know most people didn’t mean harm. Curiosity often comes from not knowing what else to say. But when the same question keeps appearing, it starts to reveal something deeper.

What That Question Really Asks

That question isn’t really about a test.

It’s about why.

Why would this happen?
Why didn’t you prevent it?
Why wasn’t it caught?

And that’s where I need to pause the conversation.

Emma Is Not a Diagnosis

Emma is not the result of a test taken or not taken.
She is not a “what if.”
She is not a warning sign or a medical outcome.

She is a little girl with a birthday.
With a laugh that fills rooms.
With a presence that changes people.

Her life is not something that needs explaining or justifying.

What Matters More Than Any Answer

Whether we knew ahead of time or not doesn’t change the truth:

Emma is wanted.
Emma is loved.
Emma is exactly who she is meant to be.

No test could have prepared us for the joy she brings, the way she has softened our hearts, or the ways she has reshaped what we thought we understood about life and love.

Before the Photos, the Truth

So before you see the birthday candles, the decorations, the smiles frozen in photos — know this:

Emma’s story is not about a diagnosis.
It’s about belonging.
It’s about celebration.
It’s about a child who deserves to be seen for who she is, not questioned for how she came to be.

She is not a lesson.
She is not a statistic.

She is Emma.
And yesterday, we celebrated her.