A well-known actor shared the ups and downs of raising a child with Down syndrome. He opened up about this journey and how it took him by surprise. These challenges led him to take a break from his career, but this transformative turn brought a lot of personal growth.
In the glitz and glam of Hollywood, it is rare for fans to get a closer look into the inspiration and process of bringing a character to life. This actor, known for his memorable performances in the NBC comedy “Scrubs” and films like “Office Space” and “Platoon,” has opened up about the personal challenges that inspired his on-screen characters.
However, these challenges were more than just inspirations; they were life-changing lessons and rewards that altered the trajectory of the actor’s personal and professional life.
The actor’s life took a transformative turn when his son Max was born in August 1997, coincidentally on the day Princess Diana died. People around him and his ex-wife Lauren Lambert, were shocked, but the parents did not understand the fuss.
The actor in the story on the show “Scrubs” | Source: Getty Images
But just as the world was shocked at the death of Princess Diana, the actor and the mother of his son also experienced an unexpected shift. They had anticipated the birth of a daughter but were surprised by the arrival of a son.
John C. McGinley taking pictures after a reading for children with Down syndrome at Barnes & Noble in California in 2007 | Source: Getty images
Twenty minutes after Max’s birth, the doctors delivered more unexpected news, informing them that their newborn son was diagnosed with Down syndrome. The parents knew nothing about the condition nor had any indication that their child could be born with it.
The prenatal visits had been completely smooth, with the only news from the blood protein test and sonogram indicating they would be having a girl. “We did not have the amnio because we were discouraged from having it since Max’s mom was very healthy, and I was healthy, with no history of challenges in either of our families,” the actor explained.
The actor in the story in New York in 2017 | Source: Getty Images
The process of grappling with his son’s diagnosis was a rollercoaster. Initially, he wished he could take on his son’s challenges to spare him any suffering. Despite having no family history of the condition, the father was determined to educate himself about Down syndrome.
The actor in the story reading for children with Down Syndrome at Barnes Barnes & Noble in California in 2007 | Source: Getty images
He learned that it is the most common genetic disorder, occurring once in every 800 births—a random twist of nature with no one to blame. However, the initial stages of processing this information were difficult.
The actor found himself thinking of a Paul Simon song from the album “Graceland”: “Breakdowns come and breakdowns go, so what are you gonna do about it?” This lyric became an inspiration for action.
The man in the story in New York in 2017 | Source: Shutterstock
He took a year off from acting, dedicating himself to understanding Down syndrome. Together with Lauren, he attended seminars and absorbed all the information they could find, preparing to support Max through his journey.
Although Max was spared some of the common complications associated with Down syndrome, such as heart and digestive issues, he wasn’t immune to others, like experiencing seizures at the age of three.
This did not make the journey any easier. The actor realized that he could not plan ahead like most parents but needed to ensure that his child’s current needs were met. He expressed, “When your child stops breathing 60 times a night, you don’t worry about what’s going on next year or even next week. You put aside thoughts about which preschool you’re going to enroll him in and focus on how he’s doing right now.”
As he came to terms with Max’s condition, he acknowledged a painful reality: the future he had envisioned, filled with father-son activities like playing catch, might never materialize. “But just because I gave up hoping for such things doesn’t mean I didn’t miss them. It was a huge forfeiture of desire and expectations,” he added.
John C. McGinley with his wife Nichole Kessler, son Max, and daughters Kate and Billie at the Global Down Syndrome Foundation “Be Beautiful, Be Yourself” fashion show in Colorado in 2016 | Getty Images
As a result, the actor has reflected on the deeper meaning as he watches Max grow. He admitted that one of the hardest parts of raising a child with Down syndrome is the difficulty in making age-appropriate friendships as a teenager.
He reflected on his own adolescence, adding that he never had friends with Down syndrome when he was a teenager, which shed light on the isolation often experienced by this community.
The actor in the article in Atlanta in 2018 | Source: Getty Images
Fortunately, Max has the support and love of his sisters, Billie Grace, and Kate, who have become his primary social circle. On the other side, the actor expressed that in the future, the hard truth is that friendships for Max will rarely happen innately.
“You have to generate friendship, and that’s a really hard one to swallow because you certainly can’t force a teenager to be your son’s friend, nor would you want to,” reiterated, the hands on father in question John McGinley.
Despite the challenges, there were moments of profound joy and significant milestones that reshaped the John’s perspective. He looked back on a casual day at the beach in Malibu, which brought an unexpected breakthrough.
