F.A.B. Services Blog
Posted by Jennifer Bagu on Thursday, October 17, 2013 Under: Personal Anecdote
Welcome!! I am so excited to start this blog. I thought I would give you a little more information about me and why I started FAB.
As my regular customers know, my daughter Abigail has Down syndrome. She was diagnosed at birth and it was a complete SHOCK! At the time I knew nothing about Down syndrome, heart defects, hospital stays, advocating for my child or that amazing part of every mother I call the "Mama Backbone". The last 2 years have been amazing, wonderful, joyful, stressful, terrifying and heartbreaking. I can't even begin to describe what it feels like to be told your child has a disability. If you have been through it, you know exactly what I am saying, if you have not, I hope you never learn.
There is a lot of misinformation out there about Down syndrome. Number 1 is it is more commonly called Downs syndrome. This is incorrect. The syndrome is named for the Doctor who "discovered" it, so to speak. Dr. Down was the one who identified that the same characteristics were most commonly found together. They include but are not limited to almond shaped eyes, eyes that slant up at the corners, ears that are placed lower on the skull, a solid crease on the palm, an extra large space between the large toe and the Norton's Toe, and Brush-field spots in the irises. There are others, but these are the ones that can be easily identified. The name has nothing to do with the syndrome itself. It is just the name of the Doctor.
It took me close to 8 weeks to mourn the baby I thought I was having, meet the baby I did have and come to terms with the fact that the Down syndrome (also called Trisomy 21) was NOT MY FAULT. I struggled with extreme guilt. There was a 50/50 chance that I was the one who contributed the extra chromosome. Looking back I feel a little silly, but I understand now that it was not my fault and I actually feel very blessed to have the privilege to raise Abigail (Abby to all who know her).
If you know anyone with Down syndrome, or have watched Glee or (and I'm really dating myself here) Life Goes On, you know that individuals with Down syndrome have a specific look. They will still look like their other family members, but there are features that are unique to them alone.
This is a very long round about way of getting to my point. It was these features that prompted me to act. I know that makeup can be used to visually alter facial features. The right shade here, the correct colour there and voila, others don't see that scar, or the crooked nose. They don't see that your eyes are too close together, or too far apart. All they see is your beautiful face.
I knew it could be done, I just didn't know HOW to do it. And I began looking for a Makeup Artistry course. I didn't have a lot of money to invest so I wanted something that was on the less expensive side. And being a new mom I didn't have a lot of time either, so I wanted something that would only take up a few days. I also already had a full kit with my Mary Kay career so I didn't really want another one.
I found what I needed at the European Institute of Esthetics.
I'm gong to try and post weekly. Sometimes it will be easy homecare tips, sometimes personal anecdotes, and others information on nails and nails diseases.
Let me know what you think in the comments. Please keep it clean and resect others.
As my regular customers know, my daughter Abigail has Down syndrome. She was diagnosed at birth and it was a complete SHOCK! At the time I knew nothing about Down syndrome, heart defects, hospital stays, advocating for my child or that amazing part of every mother I call the "Mama Backbone". The last 2 years have been amazing, wonderful, joyful, stressful, terrifying and heartbreaking. I can't even begin to describe what it feels like to be told your child has a disability. If you have been through it, you know exactly what I am saying, if you have not, I hope you never learn.
There is a lot of misinformation out there about Down syndrome. Number 1 is it is more commonly called Downs syndrome. This is incorrect. The syndrome is named for the Doctor who "discovered" it, so to speak. Dr. Down was the one who identified that the same characteristics were most commonly found together. They include but are not limited to almond shaped eyes, eyes that slant up at the corners, ears that are placed lower on the skull, a solid crease on the palm, an extra large space between the large toe and the Norton's Toe, and Brush-field spots in the irises. There are others, but these are the ones that can be easily identified. The name has nothing to do with the syndrome itself. It is just the name of the Doctor.
It took me close to 8 weeks to mourn the baby I thought I was having, meet the baby I did have and come to terms with the fact that the Down syndrome (also called Trisomy 21) was NOT MY FAULT. I struggled with extreme guilt. There was a 50/50 chance that I was the one who contributed the extra chromosome. Looking back I feel a little silly, but I understand now that it was not my fault and I actually feel very blessed to have the privilege to raise Abigail (Abby to all who know her).
If you know anyone with Down syndrome, or have watched Glee or (and I'm really dating myself here) Life Goes On, you know that individuals with Down syndrome have a specific look. They will still look like their other family members, but there are features that are unique to them alone.
This is a very long round about way of getting to my point. It was these features that prompted me to act. I know that makeup can be used to visually alter facial features. The right shade here, the correct colour there and voila, others don't see that scar, or the crooked nose. They don't see that your eyes are too close together, or too far apart. All they see is your beautiful face.
I knew it could be done, I just didn't know HOW to do it. And I began looking for a Makeup Artistry course. I didn't have a lot of money to invest so I wanted something that was on the less expensive side. And being a new mom I didn't have a lot of time either, so I wanted something that would only take up a few days. I also already had a full kit with my Mary Kay career so I didn't really want another one.
I found what I needed at the European Institute of Esthetics.
I'm gong to try and post weekly. Sometimes it will be easy homecare tips, sometimes personal anecdotes, and others information on nails and nails diseases.
Let me know what you think in the comments. Please keep it clean and resect others.
In : Personal Anecdote
