Fifty years after giving up her son, Vicki received a letter that healed her heart!
When Mona and Sohail Masood’s son was born with Down syndrome, they discovered that job opportunities for young adults like him were limited. That isn’t right, they thought. Not for Omar. And not for others, either . . .
Sitting in the hospital bed, Mona Masood kissed her newborn son’s swirling dark hair, still hardly able to believe what she’d heard.
“Your baby has Down syndrome.”
At 32, the Lexington, Massachusetts, mom had had a perfect pregnancy. Her first child, Laila, was healthy, too. She hadn’t imagined anything could go wrong. Doctors hadn’t been concerned, either.
But once Omar was born, seeing the pattern of lines on his tiny hands, they noted it was a “marker.” Now, tests had confirmed it.
Fortunately, Omar had none of the heart issues often associated with Down syndrome. Still, as Mona stared down at him, a lump formed in her throat.
What kind of life will you have now? she wondered.
For the love of Omar
Yet, as she gazed into Omar’s sweet face, Mona’s heart felt buoyed. He is a gift. It’s up to us to love and protect him. To give him the best life possible, she realized. Mona and her husband, Sohail, began taking Omar to early intervention therapy as an infant. She worked with him at home, too, reading to him, exercising his arms and legs to strengthen his motor skills and bringing him to the park with Laila so he could be accepted like any other little boy.
And as Omar grew, he was, in most ways, like any other boy. Though always in special education classes, he loved swimming and superheroes. Over and over he watched superhero movies. And he had such a great memory, he could recite The Amazing Spider-man comic book series by heart. Still, as Omar edged closer to aging out of the program he attended, Mona and Sohail worried: What’s next for Omar? There weren’t many work opportunities for young adults with Down syndrome. And at 21 . . . He deserves the pride and independence of a job like anybody else! Mona and Sohail agreed. And they got an idea.
“What if we open a comic book store?”
That way, Omar could find purpose doing something he was good at, that he loved. And perhaps others with special needs could work there, too! “I love it!” Omar beamed. As his graduation approached, they looked for spaces to rent— and talking with the real estate agent, they learned she’d once worked at Omar’s school and had a 27-year-old son with autism!
And as they stocked shelves with comic books, T-shirts and action figures, the real estate agent’s son became the first employee at Omar’s World of Comics & Hobbies!
True superheroes
The day the shop opened, Omar beamed as he greeted customers, bestowing a superhero name on everyone.
“Hey, Red Agent!” he’d say. “Look! It’s Aquaman!”
As days became weeks, Omar was there to help parents pick the coolest Pokemon cards for their kids and the latest Flash and Wonder Woman comics. To host video game nights.
Today, he has a staff that includes an operations manager, two weekend employees without disabilities and three interns with special needs. And as they price items, stock shelves, ring up sales and perform credit card transactions, Mona looks at the superhero on the store’s logo and smiles.
“That’s Omar, our superhero,” she explains.
“I like it here! People are kind, and it’s a good job,” Omar beams. “And we also have an awesome Playstation 4!”
For Mona and Sohail, seeing their son happy and fulfilled means Omar’s World is already a success.
“Everyone deserves to have a dream come true,” Sohail says. “And it’s wonderful for customers to see people with special needs working, and working hard. The store may never make a profit, but it’s already making a difference for Omar and so many others. And that’s what really matters!”
— Kristin Higson-hughes
Every one of us is gifted. We just unwrap our packages at times.” different UNKNOWN