Will and Meaghan Delawter shared part of their story and how a foundation of faith has kept them together as they grew up in Frederick County and are now raising their family here. During our time together, they opened up about when they first learned their youngest son, Max, was born with Down syndrome and shared how their family is better than ever! Below are excerpts from their inspirational interview.
Meaghan: I was born and raised in Thurmont. I went through the Catoctin feeder system and junior year I met Will.
Will: My mom lived in the Thomas Johnson school district and my dad lived in Catoctin school district...several factors that were impeding some of my progress needed to change...it was the right time to transfer.
Meaghan: I had a mutual friend who played baseball with Will... reached out and asked, “Who is this guy?” He was the new kid and it was a small school where everyone knows everyone because we all grew up together.
Will: It was only a few weeks of small talk and then I asked her, "Do you want to go out?" It was right before Valentine’s Day…It was February 9th, 2003. We marked that day and we celebrate our relationship anniversary every year. It has been 20 years!
I was there to play baseball and just do my thing...Meaghan truly is the best thing that ever happened to me, the thing that I never knew I needed. That's where the foundation was set, and it continued to grow.
One of the clubs we participated in was Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). Football Coach Doug Williams led the club. We met early in the morning and would do Bible studies and play games…What better way to build a strong foundation than to have it rooted in faith.
When we graduated from high school, we attended different schools. I was “baseball first” and she was “academic first.” That foundation of faith held us together through those four years of being separated.
Meaghan: That same FCA coach ended up coming to the hospital when Max was born—at the exact moment that we were receiving the news about Max. And that was a gift from God. It was not a coincidence.
Will: That very same coach, Doug Williams…for him to be present at that same exact moment when we were told the craziest news we've ever heard…as we were processing fear and asking, “What does this mean?”…for him to be there by my side at that very moment was amazing. He prayed over us and provided a support system…Because he had experienced it, he understood. He helped us work through our raw feelings in that moment.
Meaghan: It’s pretty amazing to tie some of these things together. For example, we met in high school, our FCA coach and advisor ends up years later being a pivotal person for us in that moment…Then one day we're driving down the road and realized we literally attended the same elementary school...Also, his family owned Avalon Restaurant and my family went there often…we saw each other for most of our lives without realizing it.
Will: She went to law school and I earned my Master’s degree in education...I currently teach in Frederick County and serve as the assistant coach for Catoctin, under the same coach I played for—Mike Franklin, who was so pivotal in my life. It all comes full circle.
Meaghan: It’s neat to see how things are intertwined and how things played out.
Will: Our ability to reflect allows us to see those things that are connected…These things are not all coincidences. It's Divine intervention.
Meaghan: He proposed to me when I was finishing up law school...We were married about a year and then we moved to Frederick and we've lived in Frederick ever since…when we were ready to start a family, we got pregnant super fast and had our first son, Liam. He is a sixth-generation William.
Will: We've always had a unique naming tradition. We’re all William Delawter, but the first name is different. My dad is Billy, my grandfather was Bill, and I go by Will...We named our first son Liam, which is Irish for William...And, the middle name is always the father-in-law’s first name.
Meaghan: I wanted two and Will wanted one. He was an only child and loved it. I have a brother and I loved having a sibling…So we had conversations back and forth and ultimately agreed to go for two.
Will: I said, “If we go man-to-man defense, that's as far as I can go…once you have more than two, then you go zone.”
Meaghan: Liam was turning five…I remember telling Will, “We’re pregnant!” It was a shock for both of us because we were not trying at the time…We got pregnant with Max and we had extra sonograms and testing because he was a little small...All of the testing and photos looked fine.
Fast forward to Super Bowl weekend, my water broke and Max was four weeks early. I had a C-Section because he was breech. Initially, everything went fine.
Little did we know—we found out afterwards—that one of the nurses thought Max might have Down Syndrome and shared her observations with the doctor; but none of the prenatal tests showed anything.
So, they bring him over to us and asked us to give him formula because his blood sugar was low. As Will was feeding him, Max stopped breathing. He literally went completely purple. They took him immediately and started working on him. They got him back, and took him to the NICU.
At this point, we were dumbfounded and didn't know what was going on.
Once we arrived to the NICU, they told us that Max may have Down Syndrome. Then, they told us about the tests they were doing and that he needed to be in the NICU because his lungs were a little weak.
Will: We knew very little about Down Syndrome...I didn't even know the definition. So, to hear that news, your mind goes to some very dark places...You start asking, “What if…?", and start saying, “He won't?”. We were assuming a lot because we just didn’t know anything about it.
I think that was the hardest part—everyone just kept talking to us and we couldn't process the “DS” word that was dropped on us..I'm still thinking about my kid being purple in my arms; then, within 30 minutes, we are told he has Down Syndrome.
We asked the nurse to close the door and give us a moment...That's when we both lost it. That was raw emotion. I would say it was an all time low, which eventually turned into an all time high once we got to hold Max and do all the things that we wanted to originally do with him when he was born.
Meaghan: We had multiple things going on. There was a diagnosis that they hadn't confirmed, no one could visit him because of flu season, the room was empty because Max was in the NICU and he had stopped breathing. So we're processing all of these things, thinking he died and now he's alive and now we're being told this news. It went dark real quick.
Then a nurse said to us, “You just raise him like you raise Liam.” And, it was one of those moments when we thought, “Yes, that’s right!” There are going to be differences, but you don’t do anything different.
His diagnosis of Down Syndrome wasn't even our scariest moment. On the day we were released to take Max home, we received a call to come back to the hospital because the bloodwork indicated Leukemia and we needed to transfer him to Johns Hopkins immediately to conduct specialized testing.
Will: Behind the scenes, I was sick and at home. I had a moment when I was questioning God and asking, “Why?” I was angry and beating my fists on the ground and I was on my knees. I had hit rock bottom in my mind. I just kept screaming, “Why?”...I reached a point when all of the adrenaline poured out of me and I felt weak. Then I heard a whisper that said, “Why not you? Why not you?”
And, I sat there and thought, “God would never give you anything you can't handle.”...And, I realized that we were going to be alright. At that point, everything changed and I had peace because I was confident everything was going to be fine.
Meaghan: At that time I was in the hospital and a song was playing: Confidence by Sanctus Real. One of the first lyrics in that song is about feeling unqualified...that was something that I felt because I thought, “I'm unqualified for this. I have no clue how to handle this.”
But at that moment, that song was telling me that I know exactly what Jesus is preparing me for and that I am qualified to do it.
The good news is that Max does not have Leukemia!...Max is very healthy. He does not have a hole in his heart. He does not have hearing and vision issues. He’s just little.
Will: We raise Max like we do Liam...He’s the light of our life. He has brought so much joy to so many people. He lives life like we should…unbiased, unaware of differences. He just smiles and fist bumps! That's the way we should all see the world.
It’s truly been the greatest blessing ever to have our two sons and see how unique they are in their own ways and be able to raise them up together...We want more people to see and understand and learn about inclusiveness for children...He has some special needs, but this title doesn’t have to limit him. He is still a fun kid!
Meaghan: Max has changed us. We are better parents to both of our children. We don’t take things for granted. We appreciate and value everything that Liam can do and the things that Max can do. Now, we celebrate all the things for both of our sons.
Liam sees no difference in Max. He just sees Max as his brother and honors him for who he is. He wrestles with him, plays with him and teaches him things. He’s a great big brother. Max adores Liam.
Will: I love seeing them sit side-by-side on the battery-powered John Deere tractor and drive around the yard. Liam loves to drive Max around the yard. That's the way it's meant to be…big brother taking care of little brother...I'm proud to have two healthy kids that will grow up with strong morals and values and just be good people and have a positive impact on this world.
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