You see, did you grow up believing that you had a dead sibling?

Um, for a while, yeah.

I was treated as the baby of the family.

She didn't exist.

My mother never talked about her, but what little she did tell me was that if her regular doctor had been on duty, Anne would not be alive.

Because her regular doctor knew that my mother was terrified of having a Down syndrome child, and, um, my father wanted the family to look perfect, and you can't have a disabled child in a perfect family.

That, this was a long time ago, mind you.

Will you just explain your parents' end of life experiences? 'Cause it seems like it really spooked a bunch of you.