Hi, My name is Anika and I am a California native living in Hong Kong. I have a Greek husband and two little girls, the eldest, Elektra, has mosaic Down Syndrome. We had no idea about Elektra’s diagnosis until she was born. It took 30 days to get confirmation and then my life as a SN mom began.
I moved to Hong Kong when Elektra was only 5 months old and it took me quite some time to meet a solid friend here and then they ended up moving. I went to gatherings and tried to fit in, but something was missing. I craved a tribe of women that understood the path I was on; the fears and worries I had. The inexplicable surges of gratitude I felt. The profound change in what I understood was most important in life. The moms that were celebrating the small wins.
The moment I became a pregnant I was in search of my mom tribe. I was in birthing and lactation groups during and after my pregnancy and, even though I made wonderful connections, the other mothers couldn’t quite understand the experience I was going through. I slowly stopped reaching out until I was pretty much on my own.
When I finally understood that this journey was a divine gift, chosen specifically for me, I was ready to celebrate. But with who? I looked around for a special needs mom group and couldn’t find one so, I decided to start one myself.
I launched an Instagram page in July of 2019 and things kept evolving from there. I knew immediately that I was on the right track as I no longer felt alone or different and I understood that other women were feeling the same thing.
I learned early on that many of us SN mothers have room to incorporate more self compassion into our lives. For this reason, self appreciation has become a central theme of MST. It is my hope that, as us women come together, we can learn from each other and support one another in the special way that only we can.
