Sophie's Colourful Life

A diagnosis that changed Anita's world: Her daughter Sophie was born with Down's syndrome. Here they tell us how the two of them have mastered their lives with flying colours since then and what role the Kitzbühel Alps plays in this.

The challenges of an expectant mother are enormous. The exhausting pregnancy, the intense labour pains, the exhilarating birth. All of this demands a great deal from a woman's body and, above all, her psyche. When the mother is allowed to cradle her child in her arms for the first time, an instinctive thought arises: Is my baby okay? Is it healthy? In the case of Anita Hörhager and Sophie Aigner, the answer was completely unexpected: Sophie was born with Down's syndrome (trisomy 21). A genetic defect that causes mental and physical impairments that vary greatly from person to person. This is due to the presence of three copies of chromosome 21, instead of the usual two copies, in all cells.

Today, Sophie is 23 years old, a young woman who goes to work, enjoys dancing to folk music and cycling in her free time. Getting to this point wasn't always easy, Anita recalls. "Of course, the diagnosis completely changed our lives. Sophie is a dream child, we were young parents and not at all familiar with trisomy 21. There were a lot of tears at first, but you grow with the challenge." It soon became clear that both mum and child were real fighters and were not thrown off course by medical diagnoses. "A doctor once said to me: Sophie will never be able to do maths. What nonsense. Of course she can do maths, in her own way and at her own pace." Special educational facilities and regular therapies contributed immensely to Sophie leading a happy and contented life today. "We took Sophie to an alternative practitioner in Carinthia, tried all sorts of things and left no stone unturned. Therapeutic riding, speech therapy, occupational therapy, mototherapy - Sophie's diary is packed and yet she is 100 per cent committed to everything, which I really appreciate and take my hat off to her."

Joint activities in nature give her strength. The charm of the Kitzbühel Alps left its mark on Anita as a child and is therefore deeply rooted in the region. Growing up in Kirchdorf in Tyrol, she spent a lot of time hiking in the mountains with her father, who was a mountaineer. ‘There was no Nintendo, but we knew every peak in the region.’ Values that she was once taught and passed on to her two children Sophie and Niklas. Anita wanted to enable Sophie in particular to act and make decisions independently. Thanks to these efforts, she now travels to work alone by bus, earns her own money as a kitchen assistant at the Montessori House in St. Johann in Tirol and enjoys going out with friends in the evenings. ‘It's nice to see that so many people treat Sophie so sincerely, respect her and, above all, how many young people treat her as an equal,’ says Anita about her experiences.

"Supportive and committed people are always needed. Society has already become much more accepting in this respect,’ says Anita, who is proud of what her daughter has achieved. "As a mother, I was given this mission in life and it's a wonderful task. All the energy we have put into it is has come to fruition in Sophie's activities. Our life is colourful, we do a lot. Of course, there are days when everything becomes too much and you have to juggle everything. But I've prepared my daughter very well for life and I'm grateful that we can live here on this beautiful piece of earth and spend our time together."

One of their shared goals for the coming Summer is to cycle the KAT Bike - the three-day mountain bike tour through the Kitzbühel Alps from Mariastein to Fieberbrunn. Anyone who has ever met Sophie with her blonde hair, radiant smile and strong spirit knows that this challenge will be child's play for her.

#Kitzbüheler Alpen | #LebenswegeTirol