ACHIEVING Everything She Puts Her Mind To THE STORY OF STAR SCHAFFER BY ANDREA HURR PHOTOS BY JULIAN CURET
S
tar Shaffer, a sophomore at Glen Oak High School, is truly a bright and shining star who spreads love, joy, and kindness everywhere she goes. Although Star happens to have Down syndrome, she chooses not to let it define her. She is a very social 16-year-old with a great sense of humor who loves life, dressing up, doing her hair and make-up, and like most teenagers, spending entirely too much time on her iPhone. Star is also an avid reader and superb speller with an extensive vocabulary. When she doesn’t know the meaning of a word, she will google it and learn it! Star’s parents, Randy and Lisa Shaffer decided early on that they
62
January 2024
would never allow limits to be placed on her. “We have always given Star the opportunity to try everything she is interested in because she always learns an important skill and becomes a more well-rounded person from everything, she has enrolled herself in. She is one tenacious young lady who we know can achieve anything she puts her mind to.” However, being born with not only Down syndrome but also two large holes in her heart, low muscle tone, and bilateral mild to moderate hearing loss meant that Star would face many obstacles. Soon after birth, Star’s parents enrolled her in occupational and physical therapy through Help Me
Grow. Knowing that “it is imperative to surround yourself with good positive, supportive people who are going through similar battles,” Lisa joined DSSN, a local support group for moms of children with Down Syndrome run by Nikki Papoulides, which has been a huge blessing to their family. Through them, the Shaffer’s learned about the Down Syndrome Clinic at Akron Children’s Hospital where they promptly took Star to be examined by their team of experts. During their visit, the pediatric cardiologist found two large holes in her heart, and at six months old, baby Star underwent a successful open-heart surgery. However,
