I never realized that I would have this huge of a mission in life. I always thought I was going to be like everyone else and live a "regular" life. I became a teacher in Philadelphia to help under-privileged children. I'm a person that helps others and tries to do the right thing. Then Olivia was born.
Olivia is the exception to the rule. She has been diagnosed with two rare chromosomal disorders. Putting the two of them together makes it so rare that her genetics team of 5 couldn't even find a documented history of anyone having the combination. She walks a path all her own.
God gave me such a complicated child because it does take a special parent to care for special needs children. Who would have thought I would be the chosen one? All of us are children of God and as parents, we are just parenting the children He gives us until he feels they have made the impression He intended for them. They will then return to him and be at peace.
My body has been pushed to the limits and not in the way that I pumped too much iron in the gym and my muscles are having spasms. Having a special needs child means being an advocate. This is the toughest job I have ever been assigned. Fighting for her to have the life she deserves comes with heartache and a ton of paperwork and phone calls. I am a personal assistance to a 3 year old. I work as hard as the personal assistance to the stars, however, I have this job every minute of the day. She has 7 doctors and 4 therapists. The people I spend the most time on the phone with are insurance companies and medical supplies companies. She has to get monthly deliveries and fighting for her supplies is a frustrating battle. In the beginning, crying daily was a normal thing. I guess I have learned how to handle the situations better.
The reason I call her a gift is because of the people she has made my husband and I. We were already giving to the community by teaching, but now we are teaching others in a different way. We are teaching everyone that comes into contact with us how important life and family really is. Stop sweating the small things because there's a much bigger picture in life. We are meant to work as a community to help each other out while we are here on Earth. The world has seemed to forget this. I will push with every ounce in my body to get my daughter what she needs to have the most successful life she is capable of. But I do know that she has touched more lives in her 3 years of existence than I have my whole life. She shows others that if you have determination, you can work to get the things you need. No matter how sick she can be lying in a hospital, she will make the nurses laugh and smile at her. She feels the need to enlighten everyone's spirits. We can go to a restaurant and her main goal will be to get as many smiles from as many people as possible. How many of us can say that we do the same? She is 3 and is my role model.
I now look at special needs children and only see beauty. This is what my daughter has taught me. I hope that either my daughter or another special needs child can touch each and everyone's life. They really are special people.
Thank you God for granting me the opportunity to raise a child that is so inspiring to the world.
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