“When Karen says, ‘Ugh, my kids are so hard! They just called me ‘mean’ in Target. I was so embarrassed!’ I want to shake you and tell you how easy you have it and to hug your kids because they are freaking angels!”
‘Our beautifully ‘normal’-looking child just cussed us out and threw a chair. That isn’t your fault any more than it’s mine, or his really. He isn’t a problem, but he is HAVING a problem.’
‘I didn’t cry. I didn’t panic. The adrenaline made me clear headed. He was so incredibly wrong. Avery’s condition was much more complicated than any of the photos led us to believe.’
“He left the room for 45 minutes while I chatted with my mom, who had come to the appointment just for fun. We were unaware as the minutes ticked by, the doctor sat calling other specialists, having only diagnosed ONE other baby with this condition in his entire career.”
‘I met him on a dating site. I was scared because you hear horror stories about creeps. Out of all the guys, Jimmy was the ONLY one who didn’t ask me. He changed my life completely.’
“28 years ago I was born with a spinal cord injury due to my doctor using forceps, and came out basically dead. Doctors told my parents I would be like a vegetable. But they were wrong. Then, I met Jimmy.”
‘It could be worse.’ Yes. It could be worse. No, I didn’t lose my child. But our children, my child, have lost a lot.’
“Some of you are screaming at me right now, ‘WE GET IT – YOU HAVE A SPECIAL NEEDS CHILD.’ But I wonder still, do you get it? We don’t know if we will ever get to hear him say ‘I love you.'”
‘There is no rush. They may never get to do this again, holding their baby like this.’ As we admired him, there was a quiet heaviness. He looked different. My husband already knew.’
“As we calmly talked on that moon-lit drive, he said something to me I’ll never forget. He broke a short silence. ‘If anyone would be trusted with a special-needs child, it would be you. You have the grace and the patience to do this.’”
‘Are you prepared to take care of someone with an EXTREME disability?,’ she asked while practically rolling her eyes. It wasn’t a question. It was more of an accusation.’
“His head was shaped differently, his ears were low set and he had an extra thumb on his hand. ‘Did anybody see this?,’ I asked. My midwife nodded.”
‘Test after test doctors would tell us ‘it came back normal.’ How? Why are they coming back normal? My son seems to be getting worse, NOT better.’
“I thought to myself, ‘How long has he had this? Was it something I did?’ I had so many questions. To this day, most of my questions still haven’t been answered.”
‘They called for another baby!’ Henry and his twin brother were born micro preemies. Sadly, his twin passed away. Henry was put into foster care. I stood there staring at the message.’
“We got the call when he 10 months old. At the time, my husband and I were fostering a baby girl suffering from shaken baby syndrome. We had already adopted 3 children, all who have special needs. I waited for my husband to get home and met him at the door.”
‘What if I’m embarrassed of my own child?’ I received the call from the doctor. He was ‘so sorry,’ and we were ‘welcomed to counseling to talk about what we wanted to do.’
“I fell into Michael’s arms saying repeatedly, ‘It’s not fair, it’s not fair!’ Looking back on the heartbreak I was feeling, I can’t help but laugh. What felt like a horrible nightmare, actually turned out to be the best thing that’s ever happened to us.”
‘Once again, my cousin was pregnant and expecting a boy. She was due 6 months after me. She was in a toxic relationship with a man hooked on drugs.’
“We found out she was pregnant with baby number 5. She had decided she just couldn’t parent the kids. My husband and I knew we couldn’t do two babies so close together. My son was only 11 months. Having three kids, two of whom had special needs, it just was too much on us.”
