Sunday, Aug. 10, 2008

Miracle by surprise: Teen parents in Kennewick raise special-needs child (w/gallery)

By Sara Schilling, Herald staff writer

Hazel Green's daughter was born with low-set ears, almond shaped eyes that slant upward and hands with a single crease in the palm.

It didn't take doctors long to confirm Jasmine had Down syndrome.

The genetic condition found in about one in every 800 babies born in the U.S. each year comes from an extra chromosome formed through an error when cells divide.

But Hazel has a theory about mistakes.

She believes things happen for a reason and that sometimes when you look back, you discover the "error" actually was the best thing that ever happened to you.

She developed that theory the hard way.

Hazel and her boyfriend, Jony (pronounced Johnny) Mendizabal, had Jasmine when they were 16. They didn't get married, and both dropped out of school as they struggled with their new responsibilities.

They're still trying to find their way, not always with success. A fight with a friend last year earned Hazel a stint in jail. But Jony and Jasmine got by.

Jasmine is 3 now, a tiny, dark-haired girl who seems to run everywhere she goes. She lives with her parents in a small Kennewick apartment with framed photos of her on the wall.

Hazel and Jony watched Jasmine play the other day. They scolded her when she brushed her cousin's hair too roughly, but then giggled as she bopped her head and wiggled her bottom to music from Jony's cell phone.

"Somebody told me that me and Jony must be special because God only gives special needs kids to people who can care for them," Hazel said.

"Jasmine (was), I would say, a blessing in disguise. She's my blessing."

Side by side

Hazel was a freshman when she and Jony first met. He was a sophomore, but they sometimes talked in the hallways at school or when both wound up at the park with friends.

The couple's first real connection came one night at a dance. Hazel was drawn to Jony's sweet nature, and he liked that she seemed nice and laid-back.

They dated for seven months before Hazel got pregnant.

Both teens come from stable families and worried how their parents would react. Hazel was so afraid of telling her dad she briefly considered an abortion.

But in the end she couldn't do it. She and Jony decided they'd raise their baby together.

Soon they were enrolled in the teen parenting program at Tri-Tech Skills Center in Kennewick. They earned high school credit while learning to care for the child they were about to meet.

"The thing about Hazel is she just puts one foot in front of the other. That's what I really appreciated about her. And Jony was always right there," said Denise Mileson, who's taught the class for more than 20 years.

Jasmine was born in May and spent eight days in the hospital as doctors treated her for jaundice and other medical problems.

Hazel and Jony had to go home without her, but they came back every day to sit by her side. Photos show them next to her incubator, with much of her tiny body covered by an oxygen hood.

The next trial came at Christmas when Jasmine lost her appetite and started wheezing. It was pneumonia.

Hazel rode in the ambulance and then the helicopter that took Jasmine to Spokane. Jony followed in his car.

They didn't have friends to stay with there or much money. A charity-run home for families of children being treated at the hospital turned them away because they were not yet 18.

So they spent most of their nights in Spokane on a hospital cot, lying next to each other as their daughter slept close by, getting stronger with each breath.

'Just a beginning'

It was hard for Hazel and Jony to keep up with their school work. Jasmine was in and out of the hospital, and they were adjusting to life with a child who had special needs.

Last year, they enrolled at New Horizons High in Pasco. The alternative school has on-site day care, so Jasmine had a place to go while they finished their lessons.

Jony never considered himself much of a student, but Hazel always cared about her education.

When she was in fourth grade, she left her math homework at school overnight. She persuaded her mom to take her early the next day so she'd have time to finish it before class.

She still has a determined streak. She dreams of a career as an FBI agent, photographer, interior decorator or labor and delivery nurse. She talks with such enthusiasm it's hard not to hope she'll see one of them through.

She has brown hair that falls to her shoulders and dark eyes she highlights with sparkly shadow. She looks young but has a mother's way of being able to make conversation, prepare a bowl of oatmeal and comfort a crying child all at the same time.

Before Jasmine was born, Hazel and Jony knew little about Down syndrome. Hazel said it was scary to learn their daughter would have developmental delays and could face serious health problems.

In the hospital, "They explained everything to us. They asked, 'Do you still want to keep this child?' " said Hazel's mom, Ruth Green of Pasco, who's been with Hazel's dad more than 30 years. "Hazel said, 'Yes I do. I'm taking this baby home with me.' "

That determination also was apparent to Larry Clark, a teacher at New Horizons. He often found the couple in a classroom after school playfully competing to finish their assignments first.

"They knew they were behind, but they didn't give up. They just kept plugging away," Clark said. "... The fact that they never complained, that really impressed me."

Hazel and Jony graduated in June, at age 19. A scrapbook Hazel made of the night is filled with photos of them smiling in their caps and gowns, posing with family, friends and the teachers they say changed their lives.

One of the pages has a quote written in Hazel's flowery print.

It says, "In every story there is an end. But in this story, there's no end. Just a new beginning."

'I want to be someone'

Jony and his family came to the U.S. from Mexico when he was 3 years old. He's the oldest, with a little brother and three little sisters. The youngest, Nelly, is just a year older than Jasmine.

Jony comes off as tough, with baggy pants and a tattoo on his forearm that says Hecho en Mexico.

But he has a tender side. He always checks in on his grandmothers and can't stand it when anyone in the family is angry with him, said his mom, Lucila Munguia of Kennewick.

When he talks to Jasmine, he folds his body down to look in her eyes.

The little girl loves Top Ramen noodles, and one of the words she can say is sopa, which means "soup" in Spanish. She understands English and some Spanish.

Jasmine communicates mostly with her hands. When she wants something to eat, she brings her fingers in a point to her mouth.

She made that sign over and over at her Grandma Lucila's the other day as she hovered near a container of cereal.

One of Jony's sisters filled a plastic cup with the treat.

"What do you say?" Hazel asked, and Jasmine brought her palm to her chin and back down. "Thank you."

Jony worries that when Jasmine is old enough to go to school, her classmates will tease her. He wants others to see her the way he does, as a girl without limits.

When Hazel was in jail for a month, he made Jasmine's meals, gave her baths and got her to day care while also keeping up on his school work and holding down a part-time job.

Clark, the New Horizons teacher, called the young father "a bona fide man" for the way he stepped up with Jasmine.

"One of the most encouraging parts of my whole year was the beam on Jony's face when he realized he was going to make it (to graduation). That was worth everything," Clark said.

Hazel has found work as a housekeeper in a hotel and Jony's been applying for full-time jobs. He just had an interview with a technical school in Spokane and wants to go there to study drafting if he can figure out how to pay for it.

Hazel and Jasmine would go with him.

"Now that I've had my daughter, I actually want to be someone," Jony said. "(I want to) have a profession, like be an architect or a teacher. Someone."

'Raise them right'

Hazel and Jony don't talk much about regrets.

They wish they had Jasmine later in life, but they wouldn't trade her for anything, they said. They love every chromosome that made her their girl.

They do want teens to know the path they've taken is difficult and it's better to wait to have kids. If others learn from their experience, well, that fits with Hazel's theory too.

She thinks back to when Jasmine was born. She and Jony sat in the hospital, their heads spinning.

"I remember (saying to) Jony, 'What are we going to do?' " Hazel said. "But you never know. You just have to work hard and raise them right."

The young family went to the park last month. Jony barbecued hamburgers as Hazel chopped tomatoes, onions and cilantro for salsa. They brought Top Ramen for Jasmine.

Before Hazel arrived from work, Jony guarded the food at a picnic table with his daughter.

An old buddy walked up and they talked in Spanish for a few minutes. The friend left to join a group of guys playing football.

Jony watched him go, then looked at his little girl.

He pulled out his cell phone and turned on a pop song.

"Come on!" he urged Jasmine, bopping his head and twisting his body to the beat. He started to laugh.

Jasmine stood there for a moment, watching her dad. Then she started to dance.

It was a hot night. Jony's sisters showed up and so did some friends. They were celebrating Jony's 20th birthday. Hazel's is in September.

Twenty years old isn't much of a milestone, the couple said. But it does mean they'll no longer be teen parents.

Just parents, mistakes and all.

Down syndrome support group

Chris and Zelene Fowler helped start the Down Syndrome Association of the Mid-Columbia after their son, Henry, was born two years ago with the genetic condition.

They felt scared and alone. They wanted a group to help people in the same situation.

The association provides information and support and coordinates events, such as a monthly play group with Down syndrome children and others with "typical development."

Down syndrome causes developmental delays and is linked to some heart, respiratory, vision and hearing problems. But people with the condition can lead healthy and independent lives into their 60s and 70s with proper education and medical care, according to the National Association for Down Syndrome.

Experts don't know why the syndrome happens.

It's usually caused by an extra chromosome formed at conception. It's not linked to anything the mother did during pregnancy or related to race, religion or socioeconomics.

Zelene Fowler said her son is a beautiful blessing and she and her husband have learned from him.

"The baby we thought we were going to have isn't there anymore. But you just dream new dreams. We are excited for Henry's bright future," she said. "If you're going to limit a child, they'll only do so much. That's what they'll reach to."

The Fowlers' friends, Aaron and Heather Jensen, helped them start the local association. Two upcoming events are planned:

-- Karen Gaffney, a woman with Down syndrome who's earned a college degree and is an accomplished swimmer, will speak at 6 p.m. Sept. 16 at the Shilo Inn in Richland. Admission is free.

-- The annual one-mile Buddy Walk to raise money for the Down syndrome community is 10 a.m. Oct. 4 at Howard Amon Park in Richland.

For more information, go to www.dsamc.org

Teen pregnancy rate

The adolescent pregnancy rate among girls 15 to 17 was 28 per 1,000 in Washington in 2005. That's the lowest it's been since data started being collected in 1980.

The rate for Franklin County in 2003-05 was 54 pregnancies per 1,000 girls 15 to 17, the third-highest in the state. Benton County's rate was 31 per 1,000, ranking 12th.

Adams County was the highest in the state with 69 pregnancies per 1,000 teen girls and Yakima County was second with 56 per 1,000.

-- Source: Washington State Department of Health