Why Star-Eyed Girl?

So, you may be wondering why I decided to call this blog “Star-Eyed Girl.” If you know me (and Jade) personally, you probably already know. Jade has beautiful dark blue eyes. She also has what are called “Brushfield spots” in her eyes. Brushfield spots can occur in anyone, but occur frequently in people with Trisomy 21, which is commonly referred to as Down syndrome. They are named after a physician named Thomas Brushfield, who first described them in his 1924 M.D. thesis. According to Medecinenet.com (who knows if that is a legit site!), Brushfield spots are “little white spots that are slightly elevated on the surface of the iris arranged in a ring concentric with the pupil.” Basically they are beautiful white spots that stand out among the color of the iris. Jade has blue eyes with white spots– it literally looks like stars in her eyes. When she was born, her eyes were dark blue with Brushfield spots. They looked like a starry midnight sky. Right around the time she turned 1, her eyes started to lighten, but stayed blue. Now it is more like the sky just before dawn when the sun has not yet risen, but the sky is starting to lighten and the stars are still out. Needless to say, her eyes are absolutely gorgeous.

I also thought that “Star-Eyed Girl” was fitting because if you look up the definition of “starry-eyed” in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, this is what you will find: “regarding an object or a prospect in an overly favorable light.”

Without playing into the stereotype that people with Down syndrome are always happy (they are not… more on that later), I do believe that Jade tends to come at life with an air of positivity. Some may say it is overly favorable, but I think it is just right. She literally exudes happiness. Her smile lights up a room and her laugh could warm even the hardest heart. So, calling her my star-eyed girl seems to be quite fitting. Maybe the stars help her see everything a little more favorably. And you know what? I think that’s great.

Most days I think we all could use a little extra light in our lives.