Edmonton mom publishes children's book inspired by daughter with Down syndrome

Ana-Maria dreamed for years of having a sister.

Not long after her sixth birthday — her wish finally came true, when Jordan Grace was born.

Now that wish — and the bond the two sisters share — has served as the inspiration for a picture book about a little girl with Down syndrome. 

The fairytale, A Princess Wish, was written by their mother Maria Jordan MacKeigan, to mark Jordan Grace's second birthday. 

MacKeigan, who lives in Edmonton's Mill Woods neighbourhood, was pregnant when she heard the diagnosis.

She was told her baby had a heart defect related to Down syndrome, and her second child would be born with an extra chromosome.

"I was very scared," MacKeigan said during a Thursday morning interview on CBC Radio's Edmonton AM.

"I didn't know what Down syndrome was at all. It was like being a new parent all over again. There was just every emotion you can imagine with that kind of diagnosis."

The next few months were a blur of doctors appointments and scans, and MacKeigan prayed her baby would be healthy.

But all her misgivings washed away the first time she set eyes on Jordan Grace.

"What I thought Down syndrome was, is not my daughter. She is amazing," said MacKeigan. "I've learned that we can't judge a person by a diagnosis. She's going to be her own little personality, just like any other child."

But after the birth, MacKeigan wrestled with how she would explain the diagnosis to Ana-Maria.

I told her, 'Your little sister was a little bit different,' and she stopped me right in my tracks and said, 'So what, mommy?' 

That conversation at the dinner table was an eye-opener for MacKeigan.

"For me, that was the beginning. And I thought, she's right, it's just a diagnosis. She's going to be Jordan Grace, no matter what. We just need to embrace it."​

In A Princess Wish, a princess hopes for a sister and one day her wish comes true. When the younger sister is born, she has almond-shaped eyes and a crease in her right hand (both common traits of Down syndrome).

MacKeigan hopes the book will appeal to all families, and provide a lesson on acceptance.

"I want children to grow up knowing that different is OK, and different is good. I want acceptance for my daughter."

The self-published book is available on Amazon and CreateSpace.