Why Celebrations Matter
My brother inspired me to pay more attention to celebrations. He said, “You should keep a bottle of champagne in the fridge at all times, so you can celebrate at a moment’s notice.” That’s great advice. And I do have…
special needs
A Sliver of Hope
WOW! I still can’t believe we raised over $5,000 for Bello Machre. Thanks to all of you who donated and supported us for the walk. Catherine will use the money to help with surgery expenses that are upcoming. She’s getting…
Special Needs of the "Normal" Sibling
It happened again. Another seizure that required meds. But this one had a twist: Sarah wanted to be put to bed in the middle of it by Brian – and Brian was holding Catherine. “Daddy put you to bed,” she…
Let the Data Show
We’re entering another phase where instead of being a mom, I become a scientist. Instead of snuggling and hugging and cheering, we will observe and track and analyze. I don’t especially like these phases, but long ago I learned that…
Magical Experiences for Disabled Kids
Wow! Some days you’re just thankful you got up and had the stuff on your calendar that was there. Catherine didn’t have an aid on Tuesday, so I got to play that part at school. I actually love the excuse…
Festivals and Stares
We recently went to an art and music festival in Annapolis. I have a hunch Catherine responds differently to live music, so I wanted to expose her to whatever the “music” part of the festival had to offer. Turns out,…
If Everybody Had a Notion
Catherine got to surf! Yep. I haven’t even ever tried surfing. I wimped out in Tamarindo, Costa Rica for some stupid reason, but my five-and-a-half year old (cuz that’s how she’d say it) got to surf when we were on…
Smiles
My mom sent me an article about a girl in Charlotte who has a rare implication from jaundice. She was getting ready to have a surgery that would create deep brain stimulation to hopefully help control her chaotic movements and…
Allergies waiting
Once again, we’ll wait and see… Catherine had a severe respiratory attack on July 5 after going out for a bit of ice-cream to close the holiday weekend. We wound up riding via ambulance to the ER. Happy Independence, huh? …
School
Catherine has been attending UCP’s Delrey school this summer. So far, she’s doing great, and we’re really happy with it, especially in comparison with the county school for special needs kids. They’ve been able to feed Catherine and to help…