Do you recall those stories about mothers who were able to lift the weight of a car to get to their child underneath? I remember thinking “REALLY?!?!?” It didn’t seem possible.
And then I had kids. Actually, I had one kid. He was enough. Seriously.
I never had to lift a car for my son, but boy–did I ever climb a mountain. People often say that he was fortunate to be borne to me because they’d have never been able to do the things I (“we”, really–as husbeau has been an equal-opportunity parent) that were done for him.
But their child was never under the car.
They have no clue how much they are capable of because they have simply not been challenged that way. We have certainly walked a long and arduous road with our son. It is by NO means over, as he continues to bring us new challenges with every new stage of development. But he is every bit a poster child for what is possible. He has come to a point in life that most of the practitioners involved in his care early on–medical doctors and therapists from multiple specialties, teachers and counselors on his first IEP team–would never have imagined possible. Not just in his cognitive abilities and development, but his physical health.
The ONLY thing that drove me was the love for my son. It was sometimes a really lonely and scary place to be. It still is sometimes. But I look at him and I know that it was the right way to go. The things we pursued. The many things we declined. The things we meant to do, but in our overwhelm–we completely forgot about. Sometimes for years.
My second child is a whole different set of challenges and not quite as overwhelming. I get to enjoy her more. But she has taught me to take VERY good care of myself. You see, she is adopted. Although she is a SafeHaven baby, we do have some scant information about her birthmother. But I am keenly aware that if she lost me too early, she would have suffered the loss of BOTH of her mothers.
All of this has driven me to make a career out of helping mothers in this crazy, chaotic culture of ours to quickly figure out how to help themselves and their children so that they are not caught in the undertow.
I love my job. I love my clients. Because my clients are driven by their love for their children. <3
If your family is struggling with a health challenge, let’s talk. If I can’t help you, maybe I can point you to the resources you need. You have nothing to lose but an hour of time on the phone.
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