I Was Told My Daughter's Abilities Would Limit Her. Then She Wrote a Poem With Her Eyes.
Nobody knew where the brochure came from. It simply appeared in the recycling bin next to my desk, plucked from its fate by my older daughter, RoRo. She had found me chopping vegetables at the kitchen sink and waved the paper in my face. “Look at this poetry contest, Mom. There are prizes! Can I enter it?” “Sure. But let’s include your sister too, okay?” I watched as she scampered up the stairs to begin writing. Unlike RoRo, my youngest daugther, JJ, could not scamper away a
Grief Versus Trauma: Appropriate Therapies and Coping Mechanisms for Medical Parents
Today’s post focuses on the differences between grief and trauma and is based on the work of social worker and EMDR therapist, Meghann Crane-Russ. I met Meghann at a retreat I attended through the non-profit, We Are Brave Together, that focused on improving nervous system response to chronic stress. Meghann’s advice on coping skills and therapies was particularly pertinent for the medical mothers at the retreat because she sees so many parents in similar situations in her cli
Playing with Peers and Making Friends: Tips and Tricks
Today's blog is a bit different than usual. JJ and I collaborated on a list of ways she has been successful at hosting playdates, making friends, and integrating into her typically developing peer group at school. We thought this might be helpful because even when our children are lucky enough to have a playdate or social time with other children, parents don't always know what to do to facilitate true interaction. After some successes and failures, JJ and I have found some t
Caregiving: Life as A Cog Trapped in Soulless Systems
Few of us these days are lucky enough to avoid run-ins with the industrial complex of modern life. At some point, most of have to deal with things like healthcare, insurance, financial loans, government support systems, schools, and the like. However, as caregivers we practically live within these systems. And the hard, depressing truth is that many of them are not just complicated and stressful to navigate, but seemingly devoid of humanity. In any given day, a disability p
Exercise: How Caregivers Can Get Moving
(Note: This is fifth in a series of health-related posts that frame each topic in terms of the particular struggles busy, stressed-out, exhausted caregivers experience. Information is pulled from current research that might be most beneficial) Current scientific research is unequivocal: exercise has multiple, far-ranging benefits across one’s lifespan. In fact, if there is any one pill or “cure” for stress, aging, and mental health struggles, exercise is the closest we can
Nutrition: How on Earth Can Stressed-Out Medical Parents Have a Healthy Diet?
(Note: This is the fourth in a series of health-related posts that frames each topic in terms of the particular struggles busy, stressed-out, exhausted caregivers experience and pulls from current research that might be most beneficial for them). Let’s start with a universal truth: Almost everyone knows what a healthy diet consists of. They just don’t know how to make that diet actually happen. These days we aren’t dealing with a knowledge gap, but an implementation challen
