SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – Some Utah families are celebrating World Down Syndrome Day a bit early. Parents like Lisa Eicher who has two adopted children with Down Syndrome.

At Clubhouse on South Temple, Eicher and other parents spent their Saturday afternoon reflecting on their experiences with children with Down Syndrome. 

She is one of over fifty people who gathered in Salt Lake to celebrate World Down Syndrome Day two and a half weeks early as part of an event hosted by RODS Heroes. 

“At some point every day I catch my breath thinking about how easily I could have missed them,” Eicher said about her children. “One tiny change, one flap of a butterfly’s wing and I could have missed being their mom.” 

Eicher is a mother of four children, two of who are adopted from Bulgaria. They both have Down Syndrome. 

RODS Heroes, a Lehi-based nonprofit, works to encourage families to adopt children with special abilities. They say they put on the event to inspire others to help. 

Brady Murray is the President of the nonprofit and has two sons with Down Syndrome. His biological son, Nash, is fifteen years old and his adopted son, Cooper, is eleven.

“International adoption of a child with special needs is not for everybody,” Murray said at the event. “But there are individuals out there that have been specially prepared to do this, and I’d encourage those individuals, if they feel something in their heart, to explore it because it’s been an incredible miracle for our family.”

The early celebration was filled with dancing and enthusiastic energy. World Down Syndrome Day is on March 21st.