Welties’ Stephan a ray of sunshine

In October 2020, the Weltevreden Park community became one angel richer when little Stephan Bester was born. Mom and dad, Jolene and André Bester received the surprise of a lifetime when their baby was born and they discovered he had Down syndrome.

This was a complete revelation but did not mute the new parents’ enthusiasm and love for their child.

“We had no indication that our little boy would be born with Down syndrome, but this did not change a thing for us,” explained Jolene. She added that they chose to raise Stephan with as normal a life as possible, even enrolling him into a mainstream preschool this year. October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month when children, and adults, are celebrated and cherished.

“Our goal was to give Stephan every opportunity possible, taking into account the differences between children with and without Down syndrome,” she reasoned. She described Stephan as kind, loving, and inquisitive as well as mentioning that they learn so much from him each day.

“He truly is a bubbly, cheerful child with nothing but love for those around him. He has taught me so much about unconditional love – he only sees the good in those around him,” added Jolene.

Stephan had a rough start in life, as he was diagnosed with a heart condition that is very common among those with Down syndrome.

“He had a tiny hole in his heart, and had to have a preparatory surgery at two months old and another final surgery when he was seven months old,” recalled Jolene, “It was quite the ordeal, he had to be fed extra nutrients through a tube in his stomach.”

Miraculously, Stephan was released from the hospital only six days after his second surgery.

“I couldn’t believe it when the doctors called me! I had to make sure they were talking about my Stephan,” exclaimed Jolene. Stephan then went to speech therapy, to help him strengthen his muscles as the heart condition caused muscle weakness which resulted in him struggling to drink milk.

“He also attended occupational therapy sessions to help him readjust after the surgery,” she added.

Stephan has since been doing very well. “As I said earlier, he goes to a mainstream school and we got confirmation from his principal that he reached all his milestones and they are very pleased with his progress,” beamed Jolene, adding that he enjoys his time at school as they do extramural activities like horseback riding and swimming as well.

“Stephan loves animals, especially horses!” She added that they entered him into a competition to be the face of April in the Down Syndrome South Africa year calendar that advocates raising awareness and spreading positivity around people with Down syndrome.

“We unofficially know he won the competition, as it goes by the amount of likes his post got on their Facebook page and he got over 700 likes!” exclaimed Jolene – thanking the members of the Weltevreden Park Community Facebook group for their support after she shared his post with them.

Jolene concluded by stating that the beautiful and positive memories they have made throughout the years that Stephan has been a part of their world far outweigh the bad.

“You go through a grieving process when you are faced with a sudden surprise like this. You work through the emotions, but that does not take away from the joy and blessings that follow,” she remarked.