Friday, August 20, 2010

What it meant

Once we finally had the diagnosis of RS we felt a huge weight lift off of us. We still have no idea of what the future will hold for Abby we can make some educated guesses. We knew then that therapy was going to be a big part of her life. We got serious about her PT and OT and started doing what we needed to adapt our home and our life to meet her needs. The days of thinking that this was something she would "get over" were gone. And that was okay. We didn't need false hope... we needed reality.

From the time Abby was four months old she has received physical therapy. Since she was one she has had OT. These are her realities. She has used a walker, a helmet, braces, and so many other types of adaptive and therapy equipment I feel like we have everything in the therapy catalogs. :D It is just a part of our world. If someone would have asked me on that horrible day when I was 17 weeks pregnant if I could see myself with a child with braces, a helmet, a walker, and all of these special needs AND be happy I probably would have hit them. I still remember on that day trying to look into the future and see myself as the parent of a special needs child. I didn't want any part of it. I wasn't that person. That wasn't my life.

Well guess what... I am a part of it, I am that person and that is our life. What I didn't realize is that it was never about ME. It was always about my daughters. Doing what is best for them. And because of this I have learned several things.

1. Life is never as hard as it seems
2. You can do anything... even the things that seem the most repulsive
3. Having special needs truly makes a child and their family SPECIAL
4. The challenges that life throws at you make you a better person
5. Never think that experiences are for nothing. Everything really does happen for a reason

So now we tackle every day with a sense of purpose. We are here to make our little piece of the world better. Abby manages to touch people around her on a daily basis. No one can hear her story of overcoming such grim odds without being in awe of her and her spirit. That is the reason. She is disabled and she is inspiring. Those things can happen at the same time. Life is just amazing in that way. Being my daughters Mom is what makes me special. I am thankful for that every single day.

2 comments:

  1. You're so much more positive than me about this stuff! I'd like to think I think those things in a list, but honestly, sometimes, I'm not so sure.

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  2. F - Remember... we've had an extra year plus to deal with it all. I think that knowing abby would be "disabled" before she was born made things different than with cici. We were prepared for the worst and ended up pleasantly surprised. You'll get there... it just takes a lot of time, patience and work. ((HUGS))

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