Shaunette Duchesneau was born in St. Paul 20 years ago. From the start, her parents, Denis and Karen, had concerns about her health. Shaunette had trouble nursing, didn't gain weight, and her arms and legs were often limp, but doctors could find nothing wrong with her. Eventually, she put on weight and seemed healthy.

"But Shaunette still wasn't talking at the age when most kids begin to speak," Denis explained, "So we took her for some tests at the Royal Alex and the Glenrose Hospital. Still, we didn't get any answers. The doctors told us nothing was wrong with our daughter."

By this time, Shaunette was in school. She was having difficulty keeping up with the other kids her age. She had also become quite plump even though she had a healthy diet and ate a normal amount of food.

A new doctor had moved to St. Paul. "I think there's something wrong with my daughter," Denis told him, "She's gotten to the point of obesity,and she's still not acting like an 8 year old." Dr. Linklater took one look at Shaunette and told Denis to come back with his wife. "I think she has Prader-Willi Syndrome," he later told them. Only 1 in 15,000 people have this condition, including Dr. Linklater's own daughter.

Imagine constantly feeling hungry. The doctor explained that Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) is a genetic disorder that causes a permanent hunger for food. It is a lifetime condition. People with PWS can eat a piece of pie and gain twice as much weight as someone else. Their brains never send the message that they are full. As a result, they need to have their food monitored to keep them from eating too much. Despite these problems, people with PWS can learn and accomplish many things. They learn better by being shown rather than told things. Knowing this helped Shaunette's parents make changes at school so she could progress at a regular pace.

"We didn't want Shaunette in New Hope School," Denis said. "But integration wasn't always easy either. We had some bad experiences. For a while there, Shaunette woke up every day saying she didn't want to go to school. But by the time she hit junior high, she became known in the school system.There was greater public awareness for persons with developmental disabilities. Suddenly Shaunette was like the poster-child for integration. She and Danny Desjardins became friends and hung out together. They became proud."

Shaunette's brother, Trevor, who was two grades behind her, was also a great help at school. He let everyone know he was proud of his sister. At times, he acted as her bodyguard. One day, Trevor came home and said,"Everyday at lunch Shaunette sings with the karaoke machine!" She had no fear of singing in front of 80 kids. Clearly, she had worked hard on her self-esteem. In 1999 she graduated from high school and bought a special dress. "How do you look?" her father asked. "I think I'm gorgeous," Shaunette said.

Shaunette moved to Red Deer in 2000. She went to the transvocational program at Red Deer College and learned both living and working skills. Eventually, she was able to choose a job in the community. She worked at a library and helped at a daycare centre. Then she began working at Fields, a retail store, and found that she loved it.

The first time Shaunette returned home to St. Paul for a visit, her parents were nervous. Would she be okay? She had to take the Greyhound to Edmonton and then change buses. Shaunette said she'd be fine. And shew as. A few hours later, she was home. "Piece of cake," she told her parents when she got off the bus.

Today, Shaunette still needs help with her food, but that doesn't keepher from chasing her dreams. She lives with a host-family in Red Deer, and she belongs to the Special Olympics swim team. She also loves taking dogs for walks, going on the Internet, and spending time with her family.

"She's like a different person since she left home," her parents say proudly. "She wants to be independent. She wants to do everything that we do. When we see what she's done, and what we've accomplished as parents by being there for her, we're amazed. The rewards have been truly amazing.