Nick Ordonez

Halo Effect - A Brother's Memoir Nick Ordonez

A story of two brothers, the older Down syndrome and severely mentally disabled and the younger "normal," navigating the trials and tribulations of life growing up from boys to men. Born just 11 months apart, their early childhood is filled with happiness and love, until the Down syndrome brother has to have dangerous spinal surgery as a young child and has to live with a halo on his head for a year. The younger brother must spend most of his life, with his parents, taking care of his older brother. For the younger brother, especially during his teenage years, this creates resentment and embarrassment for having a family member who is "different." The brothers would continue to face many different challenges as the years go by but through it all they inspire each other to come out stronger.