My best friend married my sister, who has Down syndrome. Then she nearly died while delivering their twins. As doctors struggled to save her, he pulled me into an empty hallway and whispered, “Now it’s time for you to understand WHY I REALLY married her.” What he revealed next made me scream.

I was seven the first time I realized my sister was different in a way the world might punish her for.

She was six, only a year younger than me.

Her face brightened whenever someone spoke her name with kindness.