Meet Derek and Mira
At only eight years old, Mira Andrews is already helping to advocate for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“A lot of fathers get to say their kids are unique,” says Derek, beaming with the joy of a proud father, “but Mira is literally ‘one in 15 million’ kind of unique.”
As he explained, his eight-year-old daughter—Mira, who was sitting beside him during a video call with Special Olympics Canada—was diagnosed with Down Syndrome (DS) at birth. However, she has a rarer form of DS called Mosaic Down Syndrome, where only a percentage of all the cells in a person’s body actually has Down Syndrome. Those non-DS cells in Mira instead have another condition called Turner’s Syndrome, which typically occurs in one out of 2,000 people assigned female at birth. There are little to no case studies for the combination of conditions that Mira has.
After a lot of interventions from her parents, training in the Active Start Special Olympics Program, and treatment from qualified medical specialists, Mira is thriving. She is in a mainstream Grade 3 class—with accommodations provided by educational assistants—plays sports and is learning to the play the guitar.
“She’s as healthy as a horse!” Derek says proudly.
“Not a horse.” Mira adds on.
“As healthy as a human,” Derek replies, “sorry to talk like a scientist, but we’re watching this unique human develop before our eyes. It’s something we as parents embrace and go along with.”
Alongside her father, mother, and older brother, Mira has a loving network of support. Derek said he has high hopes for his daughter, bringing her out to watch adult basketball teams practice so she can get a feel for the game. A die hard Toronto Raptors fan and someone who enjoys playing basketball himself, Derek wants Mira to have a chance at competing when she is old enough, should it be something she’s interested in. However, he was still pleasantly surprised that she got the opportunity model in a nation-wide campaign with the Sobey’s grocery store chain.
It started with an email blast to different athletes and their caretakers, sent out by a staff member from Special Olympics New Brunswick. Empire Family of Brands (Sobey’s Inc) is one of Special Olympics Canada’s top fundraisers , and they were looking for young athletes to feature in a fundraising campaign in supporting of Special Olympics Canada.
“All of sudden,” Derek recalled, “a professional photographer contacted me with his work, and I look it up. This guy’s taking photos of celebrities.”
They later met with the photographer in a gym, and spoke with different people representing Empire while Mira dribbled a basketball on camera. Mira also got to experience being a celebrity herself, when she started pointing out her posters that were hung on her dad described as “every gas station in the province.”
It didn’t feel like a particularly big commitment on his and Mira’s part—and they both had a great time—but the two of them helped raise over $1 million for Special Olympics Canada.