My child is disabled. She’s only two years old, and she’s severely disabled. I can’t express into words how hard it is to say that sentence. When we had Madison’s first MRI done post meningitis and saw the damage that awful disease did to her brain, we knew then and there she would never live a normal life. It’s some of the worst news you can receive as a parent. The brand new baby you had prayed for your whole life; the baby that passed every test in the book during pregnancy; the baby that was born healthy; is...
The Truth About Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day is just around the corner. A day to celebrate the strength and love of all the moms and mom figures in our life. A day that is truly special for many. But what about for those that have lost their mother? Those estranged from their mothers? Those longing to be a mother? And those, like me, who’s journey into motherhood hasn’t been like what they had hoped or dreamed of. For us, this day can stir up a wide range of emotions and be extremely difficult. Last year was my first Mother’s Day with Madison, and it...
World Meningitis Day
Today is World Meningitis Day. A day to help spread awareness about a disease that has stolen so much from our family, so much from my little girl. Madison was born perfectly healthy, but everything changed just 11 days later. She didn’t wake to eat, her skin looked grey, her eyes became empty-as if her soul was sucked right out of her, she spit up her last meal, and began grunting when she breathed. Within moments we knew something was terribly wrong. We had no idea just how wrong. We had no idea our entire lives and every dream...
2018 in Review
I’ve been racking my brain trying to determine how to write this post. How to reflect on a year that has in all honesty, been incredibly hard on our family. How to really sort all of the bad from good and heartbreak from hope. I want to start the new year on a good note, which is hard to do when the end of this year has been particularly painful for us. So I’m gonna start with the not so great moments in the hopes that if I save the better moments for the end, those will be what...
Thankful in all Circumstances
“I don’t want to carry gratitude in seasons. I want to carry it in my bones. I want it to rest on my tongue like it is a language that I never stop speaking.” Happy Thanksgiving! I saw this quote the other night and it really resonated with me. Yes, Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to celebrate all of the blessings in your life, and yes we all know we are of course just as thankful throughout the remainder of the year, but do we really focus on that gratitude outside of the holiday season? A lot of us...
“It didn’t go as planned, & that’s okay.”
“My entire life can be described in one sentence: it didn’t go as planned, and that’s okay.” -Rachel Wolchin Welp, if you follow me on Instagram you know this week didn’t end up like we planned. On Day 2 of Intensive Therapy Madison started cutting a new tooth & things pretty much went downhill from there. She was up all night, cranky, crying, & unfortunately for her, teething pain and the distress she puts herself through also causes breakthrough seizures. She was not herself & NOT interested in therapy by any means. After her morning session on Tuesday we...
Meet Madison: Learning to Eat
Happy September Friends! Because meningitis left Madison with many complex issues, it could literally take me pages to explain them all. I do however think it’s important to learn more about the things that have affected or will affect her development as she grows. That being said I hope you’ll all bear with me as I post on each complication separately. These posts may seem long, but trust me, I’m already leaving out a lot of detail lol! So, this will kick off my Meet Madison series! I hope you find her as strong & amazing as her father...