“I’m not saying don’t do it. I’m not saying to give up. I’m not saying don’t try. I’m saying it’s okay. It’s okay if you do it all and still fall short of the goal. I’m saying it’s not your fault.”
‘You can do all the same things ‘so-and-so’ did and your child still may not achieve the same things.’: Special needs mom urges ‘go easy on yourself’
‘The doctor entered the room and revealed what I already knew. My beautiful boy had level three autism, the most severe.’: Special needs mom shares diagnosis journey, urges ‘don’t ever set limits on your child’
“The doctor continued to speak, but I could no longer hear him. I was too busy watching my beautiful boy and silently pleading with him to look at me. If he would just look at me, then just maybe everyone was wrong. He would be able to one day speak.”
‘Today, I threw myself a little pity party. There were no decorations or balloons, just coffee and lots of tears.’: Mom of boys with rare genetic disease shares how she keeps fighting
“There are no words to describe what it feels like to watch your children weaken over time. Depression and anxiety visit me daily. Some days, I punch my pillow and beg for different circumstances.”
‘This afternoon, we sold our home. This house has seen every high and low in our lives.’: Special needs mom recalls nostalgic memories of ‘safe haven’ in wake of move
“It has seen goodnight snuggles and early morning kisses. It has seen driveway slow dances and random living room dance parties. It has seen our family fall into the world of autism. It has seen my beautiful boy grow up from baby to toddler to little boy.”
‘My faith is solid, but it’s something I fight hard for.’: Mom shares how she remains faithful during ‘life’s roughest storms’
“Sometimes I don’t feel like praying. Some days I don’t feel like reading my Bible. Some days I don’t even want to get out of bed. Suffering tries to steal my faith daily.”
‘There’s nothing we can play with.’ They solemnly looked around the backyard.’: Mom of boys with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy shares how their resiliency turned ‘pity to praise’
“My boys just stood there watching. It was like they suddenly realized how much their lives had changed in recent years. They used to be able to climb and go down the slide. They used to be able to keep up with their little sister… but not anymore.”
‘Our communication device broke today. His voice was whipped away in an instant.’: Mom to son with autism shares reminder ‘we all take speech for granted every day’
“I could see the panic set in, and it was awful.”
‘I found myself staring at a friend of mine, same age, same amount of kids, in a bikini and thought: I need to get in that kid of shape before summer.’: Mom challenges true meaning of success
“I used to think successful people were the ones with the high-profile careers, the most put-together houses and children, the ones who look good from the outside. I was wrong.”
‘Something’s wrong with Shaina!’ She lay stiff, her face crimson, lips bluish. When we received an answer, it was devastating.’: Girl with BPAN, a rare disease, inspires kindness movement
“Her diagnosis sent us reeling, but we decided we wouldn’t define Shaina by her condition but by her sunshine personality.”
I Almost Put My Son With Autism Up For Adoption, And I’m So Glad I Didn’t
“Would he have a chance at a better life than the one I can give him?”