I remember the day my son was born; not even being married to a pediatrician helped my cluelessness. He had difficulty breathing, he was delivered weeks earlier than he should have been, and he needed to be transferred to a level 1 hospital. And still, all I said was, ”Isn’t he cute”?
I remember when he wasn’t responding to his name; when I rang a bell near his ears and thought maybe he could not hear well. I remember it all. Therapies at our home, a whole different preschool, and my first time hearing the word "IEP". I didn’t always understand it and many times I didn’t even get to process it. I have 2 girls who followed a “typical” path and it never occurred to me that my son would do it any other way.
There have been many emotions along the way, sometimes they are daily and sometimes on the hour.
What can I tell you that may help a little?
This...
You are not alone. You may not have asked to be in this “club”, but it is the strongest club I have ever been a part of. We are a fierce group and will help one another along the way. We ask questions and we fight for our babies.
Embrace someone you can laugh and cry with. Let go of the "what if’s" and "why me’s". Find and hold the moments that make you smile.
My son is happy. He reminds me every day of the simplicities in life, he shows me that some of the expectations we set for ourselves and others are not what really matter, and at the end of the day, we have love and we have laughter.
This club continues to teach me, and if I can help you, I will too.
Carissa Garabedian is the publisher of knowdifferent.net and mother to a special needs child in Richmond, Virginia. Carissa also publishes the award-winning Macaroni Kid of Richmond, VA.
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