Dakota’s Pride The Book: Parents Search for Positive News and Hope on Down

By G. Sagmiller

It’s been about 5 years since the making of the film Dakota’s Pride that aired on PBS, so I felt it was time for an update to let people know more about what happened behind the scenes, how things are going now, and why we did the things we did. We had over 14 hours of tape to cut down into 45 minutes, but on my own, the best I could do was an hour and a half. I had to hand over the project to Glenn, and instructed him to make it shorter without telling me what he cut out; there was so much invaluable information, I couldn’t fathom taking it out of the film, but this was the only way we could make the film short enough to air on PBS. I decided to put the movie into book form so I could add those items back in, and tell everyone more about what I found out and put in some background information as well. Also, now that it is in book format, Dakota’s Pride is more accessible and anyone can take it anywhere they’d like and read it on the go.
As with the movie Dakota’s Pride, I wanted to share the positive news and hope I was learning about Down Syndrome in a book. I hope you enjoy this book and ebook; the written material was developed by taking the movie Dakota’s Pride, transcribing what was said, adding descriptions of the background scenes and my own personal thoughts and comments. I wanted to make a book as if they had written a book called “chicken noodle soup, for the heart of someone who loves and knows someone with Down Syndrome.” I hope you enjoy.
Lastly, after Dakota’s Pride aired on PBS, I was asked many questions about the things we did not have time to share, all the things that were going on behind the scenes and any advice and tips that I could share. With this transcript of the movie, it is all here in the pages of this book. I am going to try to cover everything I can, pack these pages full of helpful information, and put a song in your heart and give hope to your soul.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Nov 16, 2012
• ISBN: 9781483536729

Book preview

received.

Introduction

It’s been about 5 years since the making of the film Dakota’s Pride that aired on PBS, so I felt it was time for an update to let people know more about what happened behind the scenes, how things are going now, and why we did the things we did. We had over 14 hours of tape to cut down into 45 minutes, but on my own, the best I could do was an hour and a half. I had to hand over the project to Glenn, and instructed him to make it shorter without telling me what he cut out; there was so much invaluable information, I couldn’t fathom taking it out of the film, but this was the only way we could make the film short enough to air on PBS. I decided to put the movie into book form so I could add those items back in, and tell everyone more about what I found out and put in some background information as well. Also, now that it is in book format, Dakota’s Pride is more accessible and anyone can take it anywhere they’d like and read it on the go.

As with the movie Dakota’s Pride, I wanted to share the positive news and hope I was learning about Down Syndrome in a book. I hope you enjoy this book and ebook; the written material was developed by taking the movie Dakota’s Pride, transcribing what was said, adding descriptions of the background scenes and my own personal thoughts and comments. I wanted to make a book as if they had written a book called chicken noodle soup, for the heart of someone who loves and knows someone with Down Syndrome. I hope you enjoy.

Lastly, after Dakota’s Pride aired on PBS, I was asked many questions about the things we did not have time to share, all the things that were going on behind the scenes and any advice and tips that I could share. With this transcript of the movie, it is all here in the pages of this book. I am going to try to cover everything I can, pack these pages full of helpful information, and put a song in your heart and give hope to your soul. That is my goal anyway, to make a book that will keep you going on your daily pace.

The Chalk Boards of Life

Someone wise once explained to me that our lives are like chalk boards in front of a classroom; we are standing in front of it and we write things on the board we want out of life... our goals and dreams, and then we work on how we are going to achieve them... it’s like trying to solve a math problem. Sometimes teachers or others write things on the board for us as well... things that will help make us grow as people. Most of the time we would have picked an easier problem to solve then what they write for us, but we work on solving it the best way we can. Sometimes we look for help by reading a book or talking to others but no matter who writes on our blackboard of life, our teacher or ourselves, we look over our shoulders see how the rest of the class reacts. Many times we do this to judge how hard it’s going to be or more so, whether or not we should enjoy the work by how the class reacts. On my blackboard of life, or for the younger generation... the dry erase board of life, I had written many of things I wanted out of life and one of the things I wanted most were children. We had our 1st child and so soon after I wrote on the board One more child. I sat back down with pride, but then teacher wrote after the words one more child and wrote, with Down Syndrome. So it read one more child with Down Syndrome. I listened to the classrooms reaction and images flashed in my head of what I thought it would be like. I soon realized I knew nothing about the part the teacher added to my equation, the Down Syndrome, so it was time to find out. The same wise person also told me, learning is good but learning how to teach is better; in order to teacher, you must have a greater understanding of the subject, so I decided to start filming my learning process in the hope that I could teach others at the same time. The end result became the movie Dakota’s Pride, and now it has become a book and ebook as well.

The first page of any book or the first minutes of a video always seem to make the greatest impact on the reader/viewer as to whether or not they are interested and invested in the story. The same holds true for an individual or couple when they first learn the news they are having a child with special needs... the 1st couple of minutes stick with you for life. Many things flash in your mind. At first you have hope that maybe it’s not true, then you imagine it’s something different, and then you accept reality and begin to hope you can do it. For me, my hope came from a little girl you had Down Syndrome. It is with this thought I wanted the movie to start with some great saying to appear on the screen that would give hope to anybody watching... the same feeling I had when she walked in the room and gave it to me. After looking for weeks, and getting down to the wire, I picked the quote, Each human life is like a new symphony heard for the first time, it can’t be understood or fully appreciated until after the final cadence, by Unknown. I loved it, and what it said to me was, don’t judge someone’s life before it starts. My own very ideas of my child and what he could or could not do, were so full of the unknown. Having a child with a special needs has taught me many of things, but mostly it has taught me to be patient, to wait and see a child’s life plays out... to help when I can, but wait until they have fully developed into the person they are meant to be, and only then it can they be fully appreciated.

One of the questions I often get asked is if Rustin Hamilton, the narrator on the DVD has a child with special needs. The straightforward answer to the question is no. He started out helping me out of the goodness of his heart, but by the time he was done helping me, each of the people in the film were like family to him. At the end of the project, he grew to love them and understand them in a very deep and heartfelt ways. I thank him for that, and for letting me use one of his songs he wrote... during the movie you can hear it in the background during scene changes. The following is the opening narrative he read and helped write:

Rustin Hamilton/Narrator: One evening, some time ago, I received an email from my friend, Girard Sagmiller. My wife and I knew that he and his wife Sheri were expecting to have a baby anytime. So their email read something like this:

Dear Friends, we are proud to announce the birth of our son, Dakota Sagmiller.

He was born at 4 am; he weighs 6 lbs. and 13 ounces. Sherri is doing fine, however, there have been some complications with Dakota. We have also been informed that he may have Down Syndrome. This is difficult news to hear, but there are still some tests that need to be done. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Pictures of Sheri and Girard are shown in the hospital, images of Dakota in the NICU and pictures at home.

Like any friend, I was both happy and concerned. So I prayed for strength for the Sagmillers, I prayed for comfort, and I prayed the test would come out negative. It did not.

About a year after the birth of Dakota, I received a call from Girard. It was obvious that over time he had come to terms with the fact that Dakota had Down Syndrome. However, I still sensed that Girard had not come to terms with Down Syndrome itself. What did the future hold for Dakota? Will he ever drive or go to college? Could he marry or have children? And mostly importantly, would he be happy? How would this impact their daughter Savannah? And would anything be normal again? I eventually found out that these were questions people in his situation would ask, but seldom out loud. So this was our quest... one father on the search for the truth about Down Syndrome.

Footage shows normal everyday family life... at home playing, sitting and playing with toys, Sheri putting her children Savannah and Dakota in car seats as they prepare to go for a drive.

So Girard dived into the world of Down Syndrome, asking tough questions from the experts in the field... from a Harvard Professor... to a Pastor... from a clinical specialist... to families who are confronted with Down Syndrome everyday... but first I asked Sheri and Girard to share their initial reaction to having a child with Down Syndrome.

Girard drives away in his blue 58 Delray Chevy.

The Blue Chevy Delray

(Author’s Note) I would like to share some information on my car, blue Delray Chevy. Many people don’t know, but I have a background in film and stage. I really enjoy books or movies that have hidden messages in them... these are known as undertones. I put the car in the film because it has a strong undertone. The car is a 1958, which most people didn’t keep because they really wanted a 1955, 1956, or 1957. In high school, when I first had the car, my peers would make comments like, Too bad it’s not a 55, 56 or 57. I liked the car and particularly liked the 58. If it were a 57, would I really lose anything and not like it as much? It’s comparable to having a child with Down Syndrome. Many will say, I’m sorry or something similar however, talking to parents of older children with Down Syndrome, they often tell me, We wouldn’t change a thing. It is who they are. I apologize to anybody I upset by comparing a car to people, but I’m a father that loves his child with Down Syndrome and his 58 Chevy. Both of which, people have been critical of me for having. Later you will read a poem from a woman who describes this feeling the only way a mother can do but for me, having a child with Down Syndrome