Errol Milner Clifford 2006-2009

Errol Milner Clifford was born with a significant heart defect and a cognitive disability that prevented him from walking or talking. As we grieved the child we had anticipated, Errol’s full-bodied smile and irrepressible laugh turned our sorrow into joy, and taught us that many of the best things in life are unexpected. Inspired by Errol’s delightful spirit, friends, family, and neighbors rallied to support our family’s significant emotional, physical, and financial needs, through countless acts of selfless generosity. When Errol’s courageous heart finally failed him on December 23, 2009 we were left numb with grief. In these dark hours we listen hopefully for the echoes of Errol’s brilliant laugh. This blog is the story (starting from present and working back to Errol's birth) of the life and times of the amazing Errol Clifford.


Friday, January 19, 2007

Similarities


In many ways, Errol’s older brother, Owen, is a whole lot like us (his parents), except wigglier. I’m really not sure how much Errol is like us (we don’t like baby formula). Sometimes it seems like Errol is a son of Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome more than he is a son of ours. Not that we don’t love him, we do, perhaps all the more because of his syndrome, it’s just that he doesn’t share a lot of traits with us (or look a whole lot like us – to his benefit, paternally). It’s not that we aren’t sweet and happy like Errol (his mother is sweet), it’s just that the commonalities stop there. (then again, it’s not like typical infants are a whole lot like their folks either. They mostly just do the big three: eat, sleep, poop). Perhaps when The Little Man gets older we’ll start to see more of us in him After all, Errol's older brother Owen only started to really resemble our personalities after he was a year old. In a way, it doesn’t matter at all. Errol has a Mohawk, and that should be enough for any adoring father.

This is a photo of Errol and the panda his grandmother, Luly, got him for Christmas. That's Errol in the foreground.

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