Stella Leblanc-Beaudoin, 7, conquers her Mount Everest, then celebrates with a fist pump and a huge smile

Expectant parents can confront tough decisions – Christina Guzzo and Tommy Leblanc-Beaudoin faced a real soul-searcher.

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They were reeling at word their unborn child had Down syndrome. The doctor who broke the news also outlined where to get an abortion.

At the time, Christina, a scientist, was posted to the HIV lab of Dr. Anthony Fauci – yes, that Dr. Fauci – in Washington, D.C.

Tommy, a paramedic in the GTA, flew to her side.

“We cried for a week,” says Christina.

They talked for hours. You can imagine.

“You grieve for the child you thought you were going to have,” says Christina.

“We had pretty much decided to charge ahead (with the pregnancy),” she says.

But doubts lingered. So many unknowns, even for two people in health careers. How bad would it get? Is it right for the child? For us?

Then, their unborn baby made the choice easy. She kicked.

“I felt her for the first time, and I thought, wow, a little person just waved to me,” says Christina.

She texted Tommy. “THERE’S SOMEONE THERE!”

Quite a someone, in fact. Hello, Stella.

Now, let’s fast forward to Variety Village, just the other day.

The Rock Climbing Wall looms at the back of Variety Village, like Mount Doom waiting to swallow up Hobbits. You will never catch me on that thing. It soars seven metres to the fieldhouse ceiling.

To Stella Leblanc-Beaudoin, 7, it was Mount Everest. Her first attempts stalled at the lower handholds.

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“Too nervous,” she kept saying.

Then, in her last Building Blocks (a life skills class) before Christmas, she set her jaw, adjusted her purple specs, and began to climb. The spirit of Sir Edmund Hillary possessed her, or something, and up she clambered, safety harness jangling and rope in tow, spurred by cries from below of “Go, Stella!”

It was, as staffer Jamie Sherwin tells me, a stirring sight.

At the top, Stella touched the last “stone,” to make it official, pumped a fist and hollered, “I........

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