My Best Friend Spent Years Caring for My Sister with Down Syndrome – Then He Said a Few Words That Changed Everything I Thought I Knew1

my apartment, laughing and sobbing at once.

All my life, people had said Rosie would never live a normal life.

Now, she was going to be a mom.

I should have known joy that big could not travel alone.

The pregnancy was difficult.

At thirty-four weeks, Rosie was rushed to the hospital.

The doctors’ prognosis was grim.

The pregnancy was difficult.

The waiting room clock ticked past midnight.

I stared at the double doors where they had wheeled Rosie in, willing them to swing open with good news.

Ben sat beside me, his knee bouncing.“She’s going to be okay,” I whispered, more to myself than to him. “Rosie is strong.”

Ben pressed his palms against his eyes.

I heard a sound come out of him that was somewhere between a sob and a prayer.

The waiting room clock ticked past midnight.

Then a doctor pushed through the double doors.

Ben