Ashlynn is 14 years old. It’s almost unbelievable to me that a decade ago, an entire TEN years ago, we almost ended up a tragedy. It’s so traumatic even now I can never re-read the post. I‘ll link it here, but I’ll never re-read it. I don’t need to. It’s forever branded on my brain like a tattoo. She was four at the time. I still don’t know if she
Long ago before I knew terms like Dyspraxia, or Developmental Coordination Disorder or Dystonic Cerebral Palsy, I knew my daughter was falling behind in her developmental milestones. She only “army crawled” and nine months and didn’t fully crawl until well after a year. Learning to walk seemed like a pipe dream goal. I would observe on social media other people’s babies learning to walk and crawl so early. I would
When Ashlynn (my daughter with Logan Dias Syndrome that caused a host of disabilities) was younger, I’m not sure I ever pictured her riding an ATV. However, I remember excitedly buying her a power wheel for Christmas. She had just turned three. I had visions of her riding it up and down the sidewalk! I couldn’t wait for her to receive it! I remember taking this perfect photo and couldn’t
Ashlynn participated in her first middle school track meet with all general Ed peers. She was so excited to ride the bus there She smiled the entire time. Kids high-fived her and knew her name. She was included. She had a fan club there consisting of me and her dad, both sets of grandparents, her friend and his mom, and last year’s SPED teacher and para because I was so
When Ashlynn was three, I enrolled her in gymnastics. I knew it was going to be awesome. She was so cute in her little pink leotard and ponytail. I can still remember how much fun she had. I can also remember being heartbroken and sitting there hurting. The favorite activity was a long, large trampoline. The kids would all wait their turn and then happily jump forward down it with
If you’ve ever watched your baby fail to meet the simplest of milestones.. If you’ve sat in meetings and offices and were told things like 1% percentile If you’ve felt a pain you can’t describe that is only eased by hope.. You know why regression hurts so much. If you’ve ever driven your child back and forth to countless therapies.. If you’ve ever felt a mix of pride, happiness, grief