This adorable 2 year old girl is diagnosed with trisomy 21, also known as Down syndrome. She absolutely loves playing with her big brother and sister. She also loves riding horses in hippotherapy! This year, she started walking with the support of a reverse walker and also has started to take some unassisted steps!  She also knows several signs that she uses to communicate. 

For Ivy, eating and drinking has been a challenge. For various reasons, in the first year of her life she developed an aversion to eating and drinking by mouth. So she is exclusively fed with a g-tube. A g-tube (or gastrostomy tube) is a small tube in the abdomen through which food and water can be pumped into the stomach with a special feeding machine.

Feeding tubes are actually very common in the special needs community! They do not stop kids from leading active lives. Quite the opposite. They actually help kids thrive by safely providing them with the nutrition and hydration they need each day