Saturday, May 9, 2015

I Am A Special Needs Mother

Mother's Day is very hard for me but last Mother's Day I found a way to look at it differently. I love all of these post I have been reading that recognizes all of the beautiful mothers but they left out one kind of mother. When I became a mother 8 years ago I was introduced to a world of special needs. From the first hour, I found out that my precious baby looked different, she had an extra finger and toe on each of her hands and feet. At 3 days, she was rushed to primary children's hospital by ambulance for an emergency surgery, after that we were sat down and we were told she had a very rare genetic syndrome.  3 and a half years later, we had our sweet boy. He also had complications and the same syndrome. Bardet-biedl syndrome.

I am a special needs mother.

I have felt many emotions as I'm sure every other special needs mother feels. I have felt lonely, guilt, terrified, grief, inadequate, a failure, helpless, sad, pain, & hopeless. But Being a special needs mother is also so joyful, and humbling. In this journey, I have meet some of the most wonderful and selfless mothers of special needs children. I have so much admiration for them.  There is something so special about these children that brings out the best in us and gives us compassion, patience, and endless love. We all give each other hope.

So this Mother's Day I give you and myself permission to be proud of all we are.
Say no. feel,laugh, & cry. You don't have to hold it all together for anyone and put on that mask of a smile. Wear your superhero cape for a day and be proud that you got up and got yourself out of bed and faced another day! Hug your children and know how much they love you!
I give us permission to stop feeling guilty that we haven't done enough, because we have done more than we can imagine in the life's of these special children.