A HUG FROM a little kid is like nothing else; it's the most perfect, concise little bit of comfort and happiness that makes you smile in spite of anything.

The very first time I met Joey Lindsey, within just a few seconds after walking through the door, I received two such hugs.

All of my worry of having followed directions incorrectly vanished as soon as I stepped up to the Lindsey house and heard the unmistakable sounds of Mickey Mouse wafting out onto the doorstep, but I was still surprised when, less than a minute later, I was suddenly ambushed with hugs from a small child I had never met before.

Meet Joey

Joey started school at the Washington Early Childhood Center in the fall of 2007. Gargoyle photo by Katherine Allen (click to enlarge)

Joey Lindsey is the 4-year-old son of David and Ellen Lindsey.

Ellen has worked at Uni since 1998, and she has been the registrar in the Student Services Office for the past seven years, but there are many Uni students who have never met Joey, who has a genetic disorder called Down syndrome (DS).

Down syndrome, also called trisomy 21, is caused by the presence of an extra 21st chromosome, and it affects nearly all aspects of a person, both mentally and physically.

Those with the disorder tend to have developmental disabilities, lower cognitive ability, and sometimes severe mental disability.

In some cases, like Joey's, the person is highly functioning and can learn and be adept at the same things as a person without DS. They just take a little longer to learn.

Physically, it is usually fairly easy to tell if a person has the disorder, because it causes a lot of distinct physical characteristics, especially in the facial structure.

People with DS often have almond-shaped eyes, a protruding tongue, shorter limbs, poor muscle tone, an extra fold on the back of the neck, and a large space between the big and second toes. Not all of these characteristics show up in all cases, though.

Standing up straight, hands at his sides, Joey swayed from side to side, dancing to the sounds of the Christmas-caroling penguin on the table. Before the song was over, he had pressed the button, and the song stopped. However, with another push of the button, the penguin started singing again, and Joey went back to his dancing.

It wasn't long before he grew tired of dancing. He brushed his index finger across his nose, the sign for "mouse," indicating that he wanted to watch his Mickey Mouse movie.

Other than a few basic words, like "dada," "mama," "up," and a few names and animal sounds, Joey can't talk much yet. But he does know sign language, which allows him to communicate quite easily with his family without making a sound. Ellen, David, Ellen's parents, and her aunt Karen, who babysits Joey, have been learning it along with him from a series of sign language tapes.

In the fall of 2007, Joey began attending the Washington Early Childhood Center in Urbana and, according to Ellen, the interactions with other children have really made a huge difference in his personality. Since starting school, he's become more outgoing and has been communicating a lot more. He has picked up signs his parents have never seen before.

When Joey got bored with our conversation, he jumped up and turned off the lights. Then he turned them on again. Then off, and on, and off, and on, and off, and so on.

Ellen explained that this was another thing he had picked up at school. Each week, the students all had different jobs they were supposed to do. For the first week of school, Joey's had been to turn the lights on as they entered the classroom and off as they left, and he hadn't been able to stop ever since.

Joey may not be quite where "the books" say he should be at his age, but he is very smart and extremely observant.

"I close [my cellphone] when I'm driving with my chin," Ellen said. "That's how he closes his little play phone."

He also puts his finger in his ear when he's talking on the phone so that he can hear the conversation better, even if no one is really on the other end.

"We're going to do it"

Ellen and Joey share some love at home. Gargoyle photo by Anna Gooler (click to enlarge)

Joey's birth was a difficult one.

When Ellen discovered she was pregnant, doctors knew that there could be complications, since she had previously had a full-term, stillborn baby girl and a miscarriage.

There was a large chance that Joey would have a hole in his heart and that his esophagus wouldn't fully reach into his stomach.

He was born on Sept. 3, 2004, three weeks earlier than his due date, by emergency C-section, during which Ellen nearly died.

Joey was immediately rushed to the St. Louis Children's Hospital. Five days later, doctors confirmed that their suspicions were true, and that Joey had Down syndrome.

"The reaction when you're told is very earth-shattering," Ellen said, remembering that day very clearly. "You can't believe it; it's totally mind-blowing. But then you snap out of it, or at least I did."

She quickly resolved that her son — her only child — would live as full a life as possible.

"We're going to do everything we can," she said, describing her attitude. "We may do it slower than everybody else, but we're going to do it, and you will not tell us that we are not going to do it."

Over the next few weeks, Joey underwent a total of seven surgeries to fix his esophagus, which had to be unattached from his trachea and stretched down to his stomach, and an eighth to repair the hole in his heart.

He had nothing to eat by mouth for five and a half weeks, and when he could finally have a bottle, it was the size of a finger and held a teaspoon of liquid.

Since then, Joey has had two more surgeries, including one this past summer to repair a hernia.

Just like everyone else

Joey enjoying the Buddy Walk. Gargoyle photo by Sindha Agha (click to enlarge)

Ellen and David's families and friends were and continue to be extremely supportive of the new addition, willing to love Joey no matter what, but not every child born with the disorder has been as lucky in the past.

"Now, everybody knows someone who has [Down syndrome]," says Ellen, "but 25 or 30 years ago, if someone had a child with [DS], the child was institutionalized, kept away from everyone else. They didn't talk about that child, they didn't ever take that child out to the grocery store or church or activities or anything."

That certainly has changed. On Oct. 4, for the third year in a row, the Lindsey family participated in the Buddy Walk, a one-mile walk hosted by the Champaign County Down Syndrome Network.

The network, of which Ellen is the secretary, is a nonprofit organization that raises money and Down syndrome awareness around the community.

This year's walk featured games, a magician, a raffle, a gymnastics performance, and an inspiring speech by Karen Gaffney, a 29-year-old champion swimmer with DS. The excitement of the event had Joey barely able to stay in his stroller.

While Joey might not quite know what the walk is all about yet, the event is very meaningful to his family, especially Ellen.

"It is important that people know that Joey is just like everyone else," she said. "The more people [who] know Joey, the more they are aware of others that are different. Just because someone is different doesn't mean they are bad or should be made fun of. They are just unique."

Joey was even featured in a public service announcement about Down syndrome awareness that showed last month on local NBC TV affiliate WAND 17.

As posters found around the Buddy Walk gently reminded, Down syndrome isn't a disease. It is not an affliction, and those who have it do not suffer from it. It is a challenge, an obstacle that may not be able to be removed, but, with enough love, support, and determination, it can be overcome.

Maybe those who have it are a little different, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be treated just like any other human being.

In the end, Joey doesn't need any words. His smile, high-five, and the best hug you'll ever receive are quite enough to say everything — "I don’t know who you are, and I don't care. I'll love you all the same."

Joey Lindsey relaxes during a visit to Uni. Gargoyle photo by Katherine Allen (click to enlarge)