I have a large family and honestly I don't think of them too often, but at the Zareinu fashion show I found myself thinking of my cousin Andrew. Andrew has Down Syndrome and I remember visiting him and his family when I was eight. Andrew, who is 18 months older than me, used to chase me around, make me sit down and then brush my then waist-length hair for hours which is tortuous for an eight-year-old. The Zareinu school and treatment centre "is a Jewish Day School and Treatment Centre, which provides special education and individualized therapies to children with a wide range of physical and developmental challenges."   

I admit my original plan was to go the event, which was hosted by Jeanne Beker, to see Nada and Thein Le; but I was moved by guest speaker Jared Florence's story about his triplets who were born three months early and were diagnosed with Cerebal Palsy. (For the record, his children are adorable). Co-chair Stacy Markin shared the story of her 14-daughter who, when she was born, was not expected to walk. Yet this summer, Stacy was told by a neighbour that she saw her daughter walking with her friends down the street.

My memory of my cousin played through my mind while I watched children from Zareinu walk down a runway all smiles to the cheers of their parents and other attendees at the show. Watching the children walk, I thought - would my aunt have had these resources 37 years ago? I doubt it and wondered what my cousin (who had done very well) could have become if there was a Zareinu all those years ago.

I'm glad I went.

For more information on Zareinu, click here.