Rapper Says Having a Daughter With Down Syndrome Gave Life a 'Bigger Purpose'
As many parents can attest to, the scary yet rewarding journey that is raising a child changes people for the better.
Not everyone is blessed to have a little one in their lives who looks at them with instant adoration. But for people who have had such an experience, many claim that their whole world shifted when they found themselves responsible for another’s care.
In an interview with Sunderland Echo this month, British musician Corey Bell said that it “changed his outlook on life” when he learned his daughter Harper Rose had been diagnosed with Down syndrome.
Harper was born on July 11 of last year at the Sunderland Royal Hospital in Sunderland, England. The baby was delivered six weeks early via emergency C-section after Bell’s wife started experiencing kidney failure due to pre-eclampsia.
Pre-eclampsia is a pregnancy complication that can cause a woman to experience high blood pressure and organ damage. If left untreated, the condition can lead to serious, even fatal, outcomes for both the mother and baby.
After the difficult birth, Harper remained in the neonatal intensive care unit for two weeks. During the time that they spent caring for her, specialists confirmed that the baby had Down syndrome.
“We were told by the hospital that they were sorry but Harper Rose had been diagnosed with Down’s syndrome,” Bell said.
“And I didn’t like the way they said it at the time because they said they were sorry but it didn’t matter to us because we still love her the same.”
While the rapper admitted that caring for Harper has grown more challenging now that she is 8-months-old, Bell and his wife have still found many joys in raising a daughter as unique as her.
“She’s absolutely perfect and is always smiling, it’s given me a bigger purpose in life and it’s changed me for the better,” the 27-year-old musician said.
Feeling really blessed to have this little girl in my life ?❤️
So thankful to my family supporting us ❤️❤️❤️
Posted by Corey Bell on Saturday, March 20, 2021
Bell went on to say that Harper’s birth not only impacted him personally, but the experience of raising a child with her condition changed his professional life as well.
“I’ve been writing music and rapping for 10 years and after Harper was born, the world just fell in place — a lot of my music is about her,” he said.
“I used to be selfish and I struggled to talk about what I was dealing with but my life has completely changed, I have a wider perspective on things now.”
The musician echoed these sentiments in a March 16 interview with Narc Magazine while discussing his latest album, “Boy from the Farm.”
Now that he has a daughter with Down syndrome, it seems that Bell has been inspired to use his celebrity status to raise awareness for the condition. The rest of the album project will not be released until the summer, but Bell is already planning to donate all the earnings to the Down’s Syndrome Association charity.
“My inspiration for this new release has definitely been my baby daughter; she’s really given me that purpose again,” Bell said.
As stories like Bell’s demonstrate, parenthood is usually a transformative experience.
Children may be small, but once they are born, the impact that they have on their parents is often life-changing.
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