'Life with Down Syndrome is full of potential'

A mother who said she received "negative, outdated" information about her baby son's Down Syndrome went on to set up a charity event to raise awareness about the condition.

Charli Dimelow's son Teddy was 10 weeks old when she visited the doctor with him but said that the response "lacked a lot of balance, and there was so little focus on the positives, the potential of what life could actually look like".

The Teddy's Trundle 13-mile (21km) walk is now in its fifth year and will take place on World Down's Syndrome Day on 21 March.

Manx Care has been approached for comment.

Charli, 36, said: "We walked into a doctor's appointment with a 10-week-old baby who was healthy and happy, and walked out with a list of symptoms and possible futures for him or lack of futures," she said.

Charli added: "The moment it happens you almost feel like you're the only person in the world that's going through that.

"I didn't have any clarity, I didn't feel reassured, but that kind of experience drove us to start something positive out of it.

"So we launched Teddy's Trundle as a way to ensure that other families have a more informed, supportive and hopeful experience from the beginning," she said.

The walk, which started as a group of nine members of family and friends completing the challenge, has grown into a community event, drawing over 100 people last year.

There are an estimated 50 people who have Down Syndrome living on the island.

Now four, Teddy "is full of personality, determination, and mischief," Charli said, adding that he was a "force of nature."

"But on the flip side of that, it's not all smiles and rainbows.

"He tantrums like any other four-year-old would and gets very frustrated," she said.

The walk coincides with World Down Syndrome Day, aimed at promoting inclusion and highlighting people with the condition's ability to lead full lives.

"People with Down Syndrome are not defined by their diagnosis. I think the world is changing and I think that the expectation of people with Down syndrome is changing finally," she said.

"We're trying to increase the understanding of what inclusion really means, because it is not just about being in the room, it's about being part of it.

"I would like to build towards having some form of intervention at the early stages to give resource to them, to say you're not alone," she added.

Teddy's Trundle will begin at 09:30 GMT at the kipper factory in Peel, and end in at The Queen's in Douglas at about 14:30.

A shorter, "tiny trundle," will start at 13:30 from the Sea Terminal for the final stretch of the walk.

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