Grey’s Anatomy star Caterina Scorsone admitted she was ‘scared’ when she originally discovered her daughter Paloma ‘Pippa’ Michaela Giles was born with Down syndrome.
‘I didn’t know anything about trisomy 21, the name for the occurrence of a third copy of the 21st chromosome, better known as Down syndrome,’ the Canadian 39-year-old said in the new issue of People – on stands Friday.
‘I didn’t know anything. All I knew about Down syndrome was that people were afraid of it, so I figured I should be too.’
‘I didn’t know anything’: Grey’s Anatomy star Caterina Scorsone admitted she was ‘scared’ when she originally discovered her daughter Paloma ‘Pippa’ Michaela Giles was born with Down syndrome (pictured May 12)
The Canadian 39-year-old said in the new issue of People: ‘All I knew about Down syndrome was that people were afraid of it, so I figured I should be too’
October marks Down syndrome awareness month. The genetic disorder is said to occur in about 1 in 1,000 babies a year and can increase the child’s risk of health problems like congenital heart defect, epilepsy, leukemia, thyroid diseases, and mental disorders.
‘I didn’t really know what family could feel like until I entered the disability community and met other families that loved and included a person with Down syndrome,’ Caterina explained.
‘These hilarious, real humans reached their arms around us when Pippa was born and pulled us into the most joyful, fierce hug we’ve ever experienced.’
Scorsone said little Pippa – turning 4 next month – has since ‘cracked open a door’ and her ‘difference lit a match in my life and in the life of my family.’
‘It suddenly became crystal clear’: Caterina said little Pippa – turning 4 next month – has since ‘cracked open a door’ and her ‘difference lit a match in my life and in the life of my family’ (pictured March 21)
Scorsone noted: ‘There is no standard, objective, perfect human being. The metrics of perfection are arbitrary and imposed in the service of those who fit them. My daughter is perfect…Pippa is perfect exactly as she is. So are you, and so am I. The only way we lose sight of that perfection is to look for it somewhere else’
‘It suddenly became crystal clear. There is no standard, objective, perfect human being,’ the University of Toronto alum noted.
‘The metrics of perfection are arbitrary and imposed in the service of those who fit them. My daughter is perfect…Pippa is perfect exactly as she is. So are you, and so am I. The only way we lose sight of that perfection is to look for it somewhere else.’
Caterina is also mother to daughters – Eliza, 8; and Lucinda aka Lucky, 10 months – with her estranged husband of nearly 11 years, Living In Potential singer Rob Giles.
Scorsone filed for divorce from the 46-year-old former The Rescues rocker at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Los Angeles on May 8 just five months after welcoming their third child, according to Today.
Mother-of-three: The University of Toronto alum is also mother to daughters – Eliza, 8; and Lucinda aka Lucky, 10 months – with her estranged husband of nearly 11 years, Living In Potential singer Rob Giles (pictured March 22)
It’s over: Caterina filed for divorce from the 46-year-old former The Rescues rocker (L) at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Los Angeles on May 8 just five months after welcoming their third child (pictured in 2019)
The Station 19 guest star will be honored with the Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award from the Global Down Syndrome Foundation on November 14 for ‘consistently using her platform to promote greater understanding and awareness in an effort to end stigmas around Down syndrome and other disabilities and encourage greater access and inclusion.’
Caterina resumes her role as chief of neurosurgery Dr. Amelia Shepherd – who welcomed a son with Dr. Atticus Lincoln (Chris Carmack) – in the 17th season of Grey’s Anatomy, which premieres November 12 on ABC.
‘We don’t know when the show is really ending yet,’ her castmate Ellen Pompeo told Variety on Wednesday. ‘But the truth is, this year could be it.’
Scorsone originated her role as the late Dr. Derek ‘McDreamy’ Shepherd’s (Patrick Dempsey) younger sister in the spin-off Private Practice from 2007-2013 before becoming a series regular in Grey’s in 2014.
‘Ending stigmas around disabilities’: Scorsone will be honored with the Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award from the Global Down Syndrome Foundation on November 14
Premieres November 12 on ABC! The Station 19 guest star resumes her role as chief of neurosurgery Dr. Amelia Shepherd – who welcomed a son with Dr. Atticus Lincoln (L, Chris Carmack) – in the 17th season of Grey’s Anatomy