A sister’s love for a brother with Down Syndrome

Heidi Schlicher was 8 years old when her brother Matt was born on Christmas Eve 1991. She returned home from her grandparents’ excited to meet the new baby and was puzzled to see looks of concern on her parents’ faces.

Her mother said that the nurses who had aided in the delivery suspected her brother had Down Syndrome, and explained that it meant that Matt would take longer to learn than other children.

Over time, fueled by her brother’s unconditional love, Schlicher became a passionate advocate for a variety of organizations that serve special-needs people.

That passion led her and more than 60 others to the rooftop of the SunTrust building in downtown Richmond last Saturday. As part of a fund-raising event called “Over the Edge,” each earned the right to rappel the 25-story office building by collecting a minimum of $1,000 for Special Olympics Virginia.

via Midlothian Exchange – Sports: A sister’s love.

Note: To support the site we make money on some products, product categories and services that we talk about on this website through affiliate relationships with the merchants in question. We get a small commission on sales of those products.That in no way affects our opinions of those products and services.

One Response
  1. Michelle Howard 41 years ago