Whether you like tattoos or not, you have to agree that it is a way to remember something forever. A tattoo is something that will never go away and each tattoo has its own meaning behind it.
3 of my tattoos have a very special meaning. All 3 are for Down Syndrome awareness. Each one has its own little story.
My first Down Syndrome awareness tattoo was done on World Down Syndrome day in 2016. It was from a design I had seen on a t-shirt online and I instantly thought it would make a great tattoo on my wrist. What made it even more special was the fact that both mum and I got it on Rory’s first World Down Syndrome Day. I added the heart to the design instead of just the numbers. The tattoo is 3:21. This represents Rory’s chromosomes. People with Down Syndrome have 3 copies of the 21st chromosome.
My second and third DS tattoos were actually done on the same day and one was a complete last-minute decision. The biggest of the 2 tattoos on my arm underneath my 3:21 tattoo has a secret meaning. The design itself was made by a mother of a child with Down Syndrome and each part of the arrow has a different meaning. The explanation is that an arrow has to be pulled back in order to shoot forward, it is to show that we are preparing for our amazing future with our special person with DS, included in the tattoo are the Roman numerals for 21. This represents the 21st chromosome and the dots represent trisomy. The rings in the centre represent the connections that are made between families. While the over lapping triangles have a meaning of strength and resilience.
My third tattoo is much smaller and is on my ear, yes, on my ear. I’ve been looking to get one there for years and this design seem to fit perfectly. The 3 arrows represent 3 copies of the 21st chromosome and how we rise up and move forward.
My tattoos mean so much to me but they are done in the way that I know exactly what they mean even if someone else doesn’t. I also have the choice to cover them up if I ever need to.
My first tattoo was done at 4Skin in Fakenham
My second and third were done at East Coast Ink in Kings Lynn
The Coastal Mummy 