Raising kids with special needs is hard than I ever imagined it would be. In 2002 and 2015 Chuck and I adopted babies with special needs. Both were drug and alcohol exposed. One would later be diagnosed with autism. In 2010 I gave birth to our youngest child, Apollo, who was born with a double aortic arch, a rare congenital heart defect. Come read my stories and share in our heartbreak and triumph as we raise children with special needs.
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder can manifest itself in a variety of ways, person to person. At its core, it is permanent brain damage caused by prenatal alcohol exposure. Here is a just a small taste of what we deal with on a daily basis. —- Imagine: Telling your child he can’t have a granola bar. This…
Yes, it’s true, Apollo’s hair is cut and he is getting ready for Kindergarten. Why? Why after homeschooling for so many years are you suddenly packing your youngest off to kindy? It’s a fair enough question with a complicated answer. So here it goes. One of my first thoughts when Apollo got his feeding tube…
Apollo had his check up with his pulmonologist at Seattle Children’s Hospital yesterday. Dr R is our favorite doctor at Children’s. He has been the one from the beginning who listened to us, who values our opinion and considers us experts on Apollo (not all doctors do). He has advocated for Apollo and he encouraged…
My children “rescued” this little guy from our cat, All Black. They found him in the yard toying with him, and shooed the All Black away. The bunny, unfortunately, was too scared to move. I didn’t want the kids touching him, so I picked him up and placed him at the entrance to the wooded…
Why You Need a Feeding Tube Emergency Kit If you have a child with a feeding tube, you probably understand the stress of worrying that you will be away from home at feeding time only to discover you are missing an essential supply. This has happened to me twice. Once we were one a road…
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #InsideOutEmotions #CollectiveBias I’ve written a little bit about Mordecai being evaluated to see if he is on the autism spectrum. One of the main red flags (right up there with an inability to make eye contact with…
Today is Apollo’s fifth birthday. Almost six years ago Chuck and I thought it would be “fun” to have just one more baby. Apollo was born June 26th, 2010 in a birth so scary and traumatic it was featured on Discovery Life’s Outrageous Births. After 18 months of unexplained sickness, crying and lack of sleep,…
On our way home from Apollo’s last visit to Seattle Children’s Hospital, we stopped by McDonald’s and bought him a Happy Meal. {Judge all you want, 20-year-old self. Fast food in the mouth beats formula through the g-tube any day.} Inside, of course, was a small toy. Apollo played with it on the long drive…
Yesterday was the last day of school for the year! Avi has made an amazing amount of progress over this school year. Despite being adopted at the age of three days old and using attachment parenting methods in her infancy and toddlerhood, Avi struggles hard with healthy attachment and healthy relationships. As a result, the…
Apollo has spent the last two Wednesdays down at Seattle Children’s Hospital’s feeding clinic. Unless you’ve had a child with a feeding tube, you will probably be surprised to learn that Apollo hasn’t had a doctor overseeing his tube feedings for the past two and a half years. Three years ago a feeding tube was…