From the start, Alina Chesla has had a thumbs-up approach to life.
After she was diagnosed in utero with a 99 percent chance of being born with Down syndrome, an ultrasound showed the baby with her thumbs up – a sign her parents took as affirmation of their choice to carry the pregnancy to term.
Nearly 12 years later, Alina is a thriving middle-school student who recently brought smiles to the faces of an entire congregation at Our Lady of the Fields in Millersville with what Monsignor Robert Jaskot, pastor, called the best performance ever by an offertory gift bearer.
“I was just hoping she wouldn’t drop the (unconsecrated) hosts because she was waving to everyone as she went up the aisle,” said her father, Danny Chesla. “When we got to Father Rob, to hand him the offertory gifts, she did an American Ninja Warrior pose and finished it off with a pirouette and a bow.”
Danny, a Gambrills resident, said it was never a “decision” for him and his wife, Shannon, to have Alina. “She was always simply a blessing,” he said.
When Alina was born Oct. 23, 2012, the nurses from the entire obstetrics floor at Anne Arundel Medical Center rushed to get a glimpse of the “thumbs-up baby” who gained quick notoriety among them for her unusual ultrasound image.
“She was telling us, ‘I am good in here.’ The ultrasound technician said she had never seen anything like it,” said Danny, a 50-year-old physical therapist.
A subsequent ultrasound image provided another incredible moment for the Cheslas.
The family believes that image shows her late brother Noah, who died in utero in 2011, delivering a kiss to Alina’s forehead. Noah, they said, is their spiritual protector.
“It’s a 3D ultrasound image, and you can clearly see another baby’s face in the upper right. We believe it was baby Noah, kissing Alina,” Danny Chesla said. “There were no other babies in utero so we didn’t know if it was a reflection or what.”
What they do know is that Alina continues to grace the lives of her parents and older brothers Nathan, 18, and Christian, 16.
“I always say, ‘You don’t know until you know,’ and from the first moment she was born, Alina has been a perfect joy,” mother Shannon Chesla said. “She healed us after Noah’s death.”
Noah’s death was the most devastating thing ever, said Shannon, a compliance director with the defense department. “If it had not been for my Catholic faith, I would not have survived. But fortunately, we were able to get pregnant again and were blessed with Alina.”
Shannon said she learned of the possibility of Alina having Down syndrome by way of a phone call while she was at work.
“It shook me,” she said, “Not because there was a decision about the pregnancy, but because I was terrified that I wouldn’t know how to treat a child with Down syndrome.”
The Chesla family said interacting with a Down syndrome social group in Anne Arundel County helped ease any fears, showing them that they were about to embark on a unique, joyful journey. Shannon said mothers of other children with Down syndrome reacted with joy when they learned about the impending birth of Alina.
“We wanted a third child, but the big guy in the sky wanted to keep Noah for himself,” Danny said. “Then he blessed us with Alina. When we had the diagnosis, it was no decision at all. Nothing ever crossed our minds. You couldn’t even say it was a no-brainer because there were no second thoughts.”
Shannon said a nurse told her she had two weeks to make a choice about her pregnancy, but for Shannon, there was no “choice.”
“I feel bad for those who go the other way,” she said, “because they don’t know what they are missing. God gave us our hearts back when he gave us Alina. She healed us in so many ways after Noah’s death.”
Danny said that when it comes to raising Alina, there are no “challenges.”
“It’s just different,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with her. She just does things at her own pace. Does she bike or swim at 11 years old like other kids? Not yet, but she will.”
Shannon acknowledged that children with Down syndrome can be more prone to illness and certain diseases, but she knows they are blessed because Alina has been “perfectly healthy.”
Alina recently graduated with honors from Waugh Chapel Elementary School and is now a sixth grader at Arundel Middle School.
“Alina is doing great things. I told her that when she was first born,” Danny said.
She is active in Special Olympics, competing in tennis, soccer, and track and field. She also participates in dance and yoga. She is especially passionate about the television reality series “American Ninja Warrior.”
Her father said she has given herself callouses from practicing her Ninja moves so often on the backyard jungle gym.
Shannon said brothers Nathan and Christian are her biggest supporters.
“They are her biggest cheerleaders,” she said. “In their eyes, she can do anything she wants to do.”
The family has made a tradition of participating in the annual Maryland State Police Polar Bear Plunge benefiting the Special Olympics. They haven’t missed a year since Alina was born, naming their plunging team “Alina’s Hope.”
“Her middle name is Hope (after her mother’s middle name), so we thought that would be the perfect team name,” Danny said.
Aside from plunging, Alina’s best skill might be her hugging ability.
“She’s a professional hugger,” Danny said. “Her hugs are an icebreaker for so many people.”
Shannon has a bit of advice for families facing a similar in utero diagnosis.
“Embrace it,” she said. “Learn as much about Down syndrome as you can because you don’t know what a fun ride you are in for.”
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