Spaghetti dinner to benefit child with Down Syndrome

Amelia Fortman has beaten all the odds.

The daughter of Tecumseh residents Megan and Erik Fortman, Amelia arrived into the world in August of 2014. Unknown to her parents and her doctors at the time, Amelia had Down Syndrome, a genetic disorder when an individual has a full or partial extra copy of chromosome 21.

“When she was born, the doctor ran out of the room and didn’t tell us anything,” Lisa Carr, Amelia’s grandmother, said. “Everybody was avoiding the question when we asked if she had Downs. Our family grieved at first, but as time went on she’s become the best thing that has ever happened to us.”

Despite the common complications that arise with having Down Syndrome, such as trouble with eyesight, heart problems, impaired hearing and difficulty walking, Amelia has progressed much like a normal child would. “She’s been defying all the things the doctors expected would happen to her,” Carr said.

Amelia seemed to be progressing normally, until she was admitted to Mott’s Children’s Hospital at the end of January with Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and pneumonia. She was put on a ventilator for 16 days, and doctors were considering operating on her windpipe before she started to make a recovery. She was released from the hospital on February 21. “It wasn’t looking good, but she made a turn around,” Carr said.

Megan and Erik both had to take a month off work in order to be with Amelia, which became a struggle with mounting hospital bills due to Amelia’s care. To help pay for Amelia’s treatment, a spaghetti dinner is being held at the American Legion on Saturday, Feb. 27 from 5 to 9 p.m. at 101 W. Pottawatamie St. A bake sale, T-shirt raffle, silent auction and 50-50 raffle will also be held at the dinner. Tickets are $10 for adults, and $5 for children eight and under.

To help promote the dinner, Amelia’s family set up a Facebook page, Amelia and Her Amazing Army. Overnight, it had more than a thousand likes. “People message me or post comments that they’re looking forward to seeing her picture,” Carr said. “Their bad days are better because they look at her.”

Carr says she and her family have been discussing how to start conversations with those in the healthcare field about Down Syndrome. “We want to figure out a way to start the discussion so our healthcare providers aren’t afraid of talking to their patients,” Carr said. “It would’ve been better if they told us about Amelia rather than avoid the question.

“She’s brought our family closer together. Different things become important when you have a Downs child,” Carr said. “We’re taking it upon ourselves to get the public to be aware that having a child with Down Syndrome is not a bad thing, It’s a blessing.”

For more information on the dinner benefit, call Bad Hair Day Salon at 423.4511.