Griffin was born in April of 2007 after a long and challenging pregnancy & delivery for his mom, Nicole. She dealt with a complicated disorder that threatened her health and safety as well as that of her unborn baby. After his much anticipated arrival, Nicole happily returned home with her new baby. Griffin spent the next two years reaching most of his milestones on the "slower side of the normal range". But it seemed that the older he got, the more slowly he reached those milestones.
"He was diagnosed with Global Developmental Delays, low muscle tone and Sensory Processing Disorder. These were red flags for some serious genetic conditions and genetic testing was warranted. Four months after Griffin's second birthday we finally had our answer..Mosaic XYY Syndrome. It was the root cause for all his issues the SPD, developmental delays, low tone, weak immune system and some other issues we may face in the road ahead."
There isn't a lot of information available on Mosaic XYY Syndrome and as far as she knows, Nicole says that Griffin is the only child in the Yukon with this condition. The availablility of treatment is very limited in Canada and there is only one facility in the US that specializes in genetic conditions as rare as this. His condition is referred to as "Mosaic" because the extra Y chromosome is only found on some of his genes, not all of them which is part of why his condition is so unique.
I spent some time with Griffin a few days before his session to help him adjust to me so that that when I returned a few days later, me and my interesting gadgets wouldn't be overwhelming. He's an energetic, talkative and very curious young guy with a keen enthusiasm for trains and really enjoys playing at the park on the jungle gym. We had a fantastic time together for his photo session and I know his mom Nicole will treasure these images forever.
Thanks for sharing your story with us, Nicole & Griffin. It was a pleasure to help you tell it and to get to know you both.
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