“I literally felt like I had lost the air in my chest. I couldn’t talk.”
That was the immediate reaction of a Florida father and entrepreneur when he heard during an urgent phone call from his wife – who was pregnant with their fourth child and had just finished a doctor’s appointment – that their new baby might be pregnant. born with Down syndrome.
“I was sad. I was angry. I was frustrated,” said Aric Berquist, who shared his thoughts in a video (see the video at the top of this article) and in an interview with Fox News Digital.
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Berquist said he wanted to “remain calm” during the phone call for the sake of his wife, “who was in tears” as the couple talked about the news.
However, he said that after they hung up, “I felt and heard this voice: ‘Who are you to tell me what a blessing is?'”

Aric Berquist’s son, Asher, is shown at age 9 throwing a football at home with his father. Berquist said of the day his son was born, “I really feel like a treasure was placed in my hands that day.” (Aric Berquist/The Lesson)
The deep faithful Christian parent said the voice “wasn’t angry. It felt strong and safe – and it was so shocking that all my arm hairs stood up so much it hurt.”
He said he found himself “just bursting into tears.”
A subsequent ultrasound confirmed the diagnosis of Down syndrome for their new baby – and the couple did everything they could to prepare themselves and their older children in every possible way for the baby’s arrival.
“He continues to teach me more about life and myself than I could ever dream of.”
That year the father said, “Asher was born. And I really feel like a treasure was placed in my hands that day.”
Berquist then described the joy he believes their youngest has brought to the entire family – both from the moment he was born and to this day, including the recent wedding of their daughter, the eldest of their four children.
“That boy literally changed my life in an amazing way,” he said.

The Berquist family is pictured at the recent wedding of daughter Abby, center. The youngest child Asher is depicted on the right of the front. (Berquist family)
The youngest couple is 13 years old today and is in sixth grade.
“And he continues to teach me more about life and myself than I could ever put into words.”
He “loves sports,” Berquist added. “He’s going to play flag football and he’s done soccer. He loves sports with his two older brothers.”
“He is available to everyone he interacts with.”
He said his son Asher’s bond with his brother Adam – the sibling closest to him in age – is “one of the richest and most beautiful things I have ever seen.”
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The two are very, very close, he said.
Their youngest “occupied the present moment like no one I’ve ever met,” Berquist also said. ‘He is present. And he is available to everyone he interacts with.”
He makes others feel “recognized,” his father said. “And I’m starting to think that we, as the ‘typical people,’ have a disability — and not him.”

“It’s been really amazing to see his development, just his growth at every stage,” Aric Berquist said of his youngest child. (Aric Berquist/The Lesson)
Today, Berquist also told Fox News Digital, “He’s doing so well. It’s been really amazing to see how he’s developed, just his growth at every stage. But more than that, it’s been very moving as a parent to to see how it is connected to so many people in his life. It was beautiful to watch.”
Developmental changes
Heart problems are a concern for children with Down syndrome – and young Asher had bypass surgery in the first three months of his life, his family said. After a week in the hospital, he returned to his parents and siblings.
Down syndrome is a condition in which a baby is born with an extra chromosome.
Chromosomes determine how the body forms and functions. Those born with an extra copy experience changes in the way the body and brain develop.
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A baby is usually born with 46 chromosomes. A baby with Down syndrome has a complete or partial copy of chromosome 21.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 5,700 babies are born with Down syndrome in the U.S. each year, and more than 400,000 people in the country are currently living with it.

Approximately 5,700 babies are born with Down syndrome in the U.S. each year, and more than 400,000 people in the country are currently living with it. The blue and yellow ribbon represents Down syndrome awareness. (iStock)
The life expectancy of people with the condition has increased dramatically over the years.
In 1983 it was only 25 years old, but today it is 60 years old, according to the Global Down Syndrome Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Denver, Colorado.
The most common type of Down syndrome is trisomy 21, which accounts for 95% of all cases. Less common species of Down syndrome are translocation (caused by rearranged chromosome material) and mosaicism (when there is a mixture of two types of cells).
Not every child with Down syndrome will show the developmental symptoms.
There are no known ways to prevent the condition during pregnancy and no known causes, experts say.
A risk factor associated with Down syndrome is the age of the mother. For a 25-year-old pregnant woman, the chance is about 1 in 1,250. At the age of 40, that chance is 1 in 100, according to statistics.

Father Aric Berquist, pictured walking on the beach, said he cherishes the “blessings” his entire family received when his youngest son was born. (Aric Berquist/The Lesson)
There are both physical and developmental symptoms of Down syndrome.
Physical symptoms may include a flattened face; shorter height; short neck; small ears, hands and feet; And reduced muscle toneAccording to the CDC.
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Developmental symptoms, meanwhile, can include a short attention span, impulsive behavior, slow learning, and delayed speech development.
Not every child with Down syndrome will exhibit all of these characteristics.
‘Walk through that day’
An important life lesson for Berquist from raising his son was about being present.
Know that “your feet are on the ground today,” he said.
So, “walk through that day.”
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When there are life challenges, he said, “when we walk through hard things, we are cleansed. Something beautiful is made of us if we allow it and if we walk through it.”
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Berquist also said, “Breathe That air. Embrace that beauty. Because that’s your life.”
Angelica Stabile and Ashlyn Messier, both of Fox News Digital, contributed reporting.