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Inspiring achievements By Jill Harrison
Tears of joy rolled down my face as I watched our son Mark proudly hold the torch aloft as he ran a leg of the Sydney Olympics torch relay in 2000, flanked by members of our dragon boat club and cheered on by family and friends along the roadside. It was one of the most memorable moments of my life and a long way from what I could have imagined when Mark was born. For the first few days after Mark’s birth, I was in oblivious happiness with my new son, until the fourth day when my doctor with a few quiet words – “Your son has Down syndrome” – sent my world crumbling down around me. I cried for hours. Our doctor asked my husband, Rod, and me if we wanted to take Mark home with us. He was our son; of course he was coming home. Then there was the silence after the doctor left, leaving us to our grief and no other thought except for those few words that would define our lives. When we arrived home with Mark, our two-year-old son, Paul, was overjoyed with his new brother. He had no idea of the trauma and sadness that surrounded his parents. As Mark started to grow, every new step he took brought with it a mixture of joy and sadness. Joy in each small new achievement, but sadness that it wasn’t going to be an easy road for Mark or for us. I knew I expected more of Paul, demanding that he, at age two, be mature beyond his years. It wasn’t fair, and I knew I was doing it, but inside I was struggling. During Mark’s two years at our local preschool, I was determined that he would not go to the special school and that he would be integrated into our local primary school. Then one day I was sitting outside Paul’s classroom waiting for him after school. I looked into the room and suddenly had a vision of Mark sitting in there alone among a sea of children, with no idea what was going on around him. I knew this was not the place for him, so Mark was enrolled in the new Education Support Centre at South Bunbury Primary School. At South Bunbury, the staff were amazing and supportive and would become my lifeline and friends over the next seven years. At the end of his first year, Mark performed with his class at the annual school concert and was awarded his class Citizenship Award. His teacher said he brought out the best in everyone. I cried, but this time with happiness. It’s hard to fathom that this emotional turning point for me was more than two decades ago and that Mark is now an adult, with so many achievements behind him. Mark completed Year 12 at the Education Support Centre at Australind Senior High School, was a member of the Eaton Scout group and played football with the Eaton Junior Football Club. In 1996, he was presented with a Children of Courage Award at Government House in Perth for his achievements despite his special needs and then there was his run through Brunswick, Western Australia, carrying the Olympic torch, two of the proudest days of my life.
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