Down syndrome, grief and palpable joy with Tracy Holmes

Author, maternal mental health advocate and mum of three Tracy Holmes joins Dominique this week for a conversation about motherhood, diagnosis and real resilience.

Tracy is mum to three boys, including twins Harry and Freddie. Shortly after they were born, Freddie was diagnosed with Down syndrome. What followed was one of the most difficult periods of Tracy’s life. With one newborn at home and another still in hospital, she found herself pulled between two worlds, all while she was navigating the shock of diagnosis. The pressure resulted in the quiet collapse of her mental health.

In this episode, Tracy speaks with the most extraordinary honesty about that year. The grief for the life she had imagined, the stigma around admitting struggle as a mother and the moment she realised she needed help. But she also speaks about the love that has grown since. About the bond between her boys, the joy Freddie brings to their lives and the way he has changed how their whole family sees the world.

She speaks about the power of language (Freddie has Down syndrome, he is not a Down syndrome child), and also about the gaps that still exist in Ireland for families raising children with individual needs. Something we both hope conversations like this might help change.

Tracy is extraordinarily strong. But what moved us most was her willingness to show the moments where she wasn’t. We are so grateful to her for sharing her story with us.

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