Individuals with Down syndrome are so much more than that diagnosis.
Anyone with a family member or friend with the condition knows this, but Squamish's Andrea Helleman wants many more people to understand it.
She especially wants to share the love and caring spirit of her sister, Adele — a dance teacher who happens to have Down syndrome.
Helleman recalls when Adele was trying to be angry at someone for something.
"She just looked at me and said, 'You know what? I can't help it. I can't stop love,'" Helleman recalled.
Helleman's upcoming documentary will allow many more people to get to know her sister.
Helleman, 41, has been selected to receive $20,000 in production funding from Telus Storyhive's Web Series Edition.
This funding will help her produce the pilot to her web series documentary, Can’t Stop Love, which follows her sister.
"She is just pure love," said Helleman, who is a Sea to Sky marketing professional and photographer.
The idea for the documentary came when Hellemen was doing some work with midwives on Vancouver Island. During the course of the stay, Helleman was relaying a funny story about her sister.
"They said that someone had just had a baby with Down syndrome. The lady hadn't had any testing and so she was a little bit surprised and unsure of what the future would look like," Helleman recalled.
"When we were talking more, they were saying that they couldn't remember the last time they had seen someone with Down syndrome because often those pregnancies are terminated. That is kind of hard to hear. [Adele] is like a disappearing part of our society and obviously, the world wouldn't function if everyone was like Adele, but she plays such a key role in the world. She was put in the world to help us connect."
Down syndrome is one of the most common congenital anomalies worldwide.
Adele, 37, lives in Ontario but spends a lot of time in Squamish, especially since the sisters' mom died of cancer, seven years ago.
"What I have kind of always said is that my mom’s greatest achievement was giving us — the world — Adele. She embodies all of the love," Helleman said.
Adele has been teaching the dance classes for two years now.
The first class there were about 15 people, the next there were about 23.
"And they keep growing in size," Helleman said.
Adele's lack of social inhibition and focus on the present are infectious, her sister says.
"I find in the dance classes, my friends who are incredible dancers, can't keep up, because [Adele] just changes in a second — and that is fun. You just get really out of your mind and into your heart and into the present moment."
Helleman says her sister constantly reminds those around her of what is most important. In the morning, for example, Helleman will be rushing around getting ready for all she has to do that day, and Adele will insist on a hug.
"She literally can't even start her day without a hug," Helleman said with a laugh. "In our world of technology and busyness and being so efficient, [that] real human connection is lacking in our lives."
Helleman's documentary project was one of 40 selected from 326 applications, according to a news release from Storyhive.
The pilot will be an introduction to Adele and a framing of her life, interwoven with people from the Sea to Sky and some of their experiences, Helleman said, adding it wouldn't be possible to do the documentary without the funding.
Once the pilot is complete, Helleman will showcase her pilot to a panel of judges.
An additional $60,000 in funding will be awarded to the top pilot from B.C. and Alberta (one per province) to bring their web series to life.
Helleman said her web series will dive deeper into other people more and capture more of Adele's dance classes.
For more on the Storyhive docs, go here.
