The prenatal visits had been completely smooth, with the only news from the blood protein test and sonogram indicating they would be having a girl. “We did not have the amnio because we were discouraged from having it since Max’s mom was very healthy, and I was healthy, with no history of challenges in either of our families,” the actor explained.
The process of grappling with his son’s diagnosis was a rollercoaster. Initially, he wished he could take on his son’s challenges to spare him any suffering. Despite having no family history of the condition, the father was determined to educate himself about Down syndrome.
He learned that it is the most common genetic disorder, occurring once in every 800 births—a random twist of nature with no one to blame. However, the initial stages of processing this information were difficult.