My daughter arrived in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in the middle of the night on the eve of Thanksgiving. A tough respiratory virus attacked her lungs, and she needed a substantial amount of oxygen support. And now, this unexpected illness meant Thanksgiving was going to be completely different than we had all planned.
Are you scrounging for thankfulness this holiday season? Holidays can be a challenge for those walking through hard days. Perhaps you feel like you've been handed the short-end of the stick; your child is struggling, you’re exhausted and it seems like everybody else has life with a bit more gravy. It’s easy to focus on our circumstances, take stock of what we have and where we are and end up feeling completely void of thankfulness. Is there a cure for this?
I first suspected I had ADHD as a teenager, but finding the right professional to take me seriously was much harder than I expected. Previous attempts only ended in frustration and tears.
Enjoying the holidays with a food allergy sounds like an oxymoron doesn’t it? After all, eating together is an integral component of the holiday season. I looked forward to making our traditional holiday foods until I was diagnosed with a dairy allergy in 2012. What was to enjoy about the holidays when the foods associated with it were off limits to me?
It was a short, ten-minute drive from the hotel to the residential facility. I maintained composure while I navigated the busy public roads, and then residential streets. I had a whole range of emotions racing through my body, mind and spirit as we pulled into the campus. This was not just a pleasure drive or a routine errand, this was a significant milestone in the life of my son and our family.
There have been many moments over these 19 years of special needs parenting where my faith hit the same wall. "It's too late, science has spoken" is a lie from Satan. This lie is a big deal because of all of the many miracles recorded in the Bible: the "it's too late" story line shows up over and over again! Come re-visit the story of Christ’s birth, because it is no accident that more than one “medical miracle” occurred for His arrival on earth.
Our first Christmas away from home was a gift wrapped in our son's special needs. It was not the first Christmas away from home I would have chosen. But it was the gift we were given. It was and is one of the most valuable, precious gifts we have ever received. If your child's special needs are shaping the holiday into something different than what you expected, take heart.
As I've been meditating on the stress in my own family this Christmas, an image of an old quilt rose up in my mind. It hit me how very quilt-like special needs families can be. We're patched together with several different colors and patterns, and our beautifully vibrant family quilts can get pretty messy, especially at Christmas-time.
