A daughter’s touching birthday greeting for her father with Down syndrome goes viral

Photo grabbed from Richie Anne Castilo’s Facebook account.

Cebu City, Philippines— Birthdays are one of the best days to celebrate life.

Birthday greetings from family and friends make the day even more special.

Just recently, a daughter took birthday greetings to the next level.

Richie Anne Castillo, 23, composed an inspiring birthday message to the man of her life— her father, who has Down syndrome.

Richie Anne’s father, Richard Castillo, celebrated his 50th birthday last June 2, 2019.

Here’s her post:

In an interview with Cebu Daily News Digital, Castillo shared how it was growing with a father with down syndrome.

“Growing up I always knew about his condition but never fully understood it until I reached high school. I even dreamt about becoming a doctor because I knew a lot of people had the same condition as my dad or I wanted to open a school for kids with disabilities. I grew up seeing that everyone loved having my dad around because he always had this contagious smile that often led to laughter,” she shared.

“Yes, we had our fair share of ups and downs. I believe that he enjoyed his younger years but as he got older, his health just got complicated. More and more trips to the emergency rooms, more procedures, more checkups, it was never-ending. There are moments when we prepared ourselves for the worst but there was always hope and strength in his eyes. He always told me that he gets all of his strength from the Lord.”

Trust the Lord

Castillo, who is an only child and is now working as assistant product manager, also shared some of the best memories she had with her dad while growing up.

Photo grabbed from Richie Anne Castillo’s Facebook account.

“He loves music and is a big fan of Michael Jackson. My best memories of my dad are always when his smile almost reaches his ears. During parties when there would be a live band, he would dance in his wheelchair and pretend like he’s at a rock concert. He would raise his arms, shout dance and sing. I remember a time when he allowed me to grab his hands and dance with him,” she shared.

According to Castillo one of the best lessons her father has taught her is to always trust in the Lord.

Castillo’s Facebook post, which she posted on Sunday, June 2, 2019, has already garnered 5,600 comments, and was shared 56,000 times. It has 174,000 reactions as of 10:47 a.m. of Monday, June 3, 2019.

“Happy birthday po may the God bless you and your family” and “happy birthday sa papa nimo. Thanks for sharing this message,” one netizen said in the comment section of the post.

Castillo also shared to Cebu Daily News Digital that there’s more to the post than being a simple birthday greeting.

“I want to tell the people who are going through the same thing to give out as much love and support but also allow them to grow on their own. Never limit their ability to achieve whatever they set their mind to. Also, they are just like any other human out there, so focus on their life, and not on their label as a person with Down syndrome.” /bmjo