The Special Mother by Erma Bombeck

Did you ever wonder how mothers of disabled children were chosen?

Somehow I visualize God hovering over the Earth selecting His instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation.  As He observes, He instructs His angels to make notes in a giant ledger.

"This one gets a daughter.  The Patron saint will be Cecelia."

"This one gets twins.  The Patron saint will be Matthew."

"This one gets a son.  The Patron saint...give her Gerard.  He's used to profanity."

Finally He passes a name to an angel and smiles, "Give her a disabled child."

The angel is curious, "Why this one God?  She's so happy."

"Exactly", smiles God.  "Could I give a disabled child to a mother who does not know laughter?  That would be cruel."

"But has she patience?" asks the angel.

"I don't want her to have too much patience or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair.  Once the shock and resentment wears off, she'll handle it.  I watched her today, she has that feeling of self and independence that is so rare and so necessary in a mother.  You see, the child I'm going to give her has his own world.  She has to make him live in her world and that's not going to be easy."

"But Lord, I don't think she even believes in you."

God smiles, "No matter, I can fix that.  This one is perfect - she has just enough selfishness."

The angel gasps - "Selfishness?  Is that a virtue?'

God nods.  "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she'll never survive.  Yes here is a woman whom I will bess with a child less than perfect.  She doesn't realize it yet, but she is to be envied.  She will never take for granted a 'spoken word'.  She will never consider any 'step' ordinary.  When her child says "Momma" for the first time, she will be present at a miracle and will know it!  I will permit her to see clearly the things I see...ignorance, cruelty and prejudice...and allow her to rise above them.  She will never be alone.  I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life, because she is doing my work as surely as if she is here by my side."

"And what about her Patron saint?" asks the angel, his pen poised in mid air.  God smiles, "A mirror will suffice."

Meghan's Surgery & Act of Kindness

Meghan had eye surgery yesterday.  Dr. Wallace said it went very well, but it would take about 6 weeks to see the final results.  She is recovering very good!!  She was definitely ready to eat when we were in recovery!!  I'm so glad that this surgery is behind us.  I pray that we don't see an OR anytime in the near future.

At one of the businesses that has been selling Meghan's cookbooks we received such a generous act of kindness.  The owner's granddaughter and her friend had a bake sale for Meghan.  These two young girls definitely have their hearts in the right place.  I know that God is at work in the world.  I thought it was so sweet and generous of them to do this for Meghan.  We always hear such bad news in the world today, but it was so refreshing to see these 2 girls thinking of others and making a difference.  We can't thank them enough!!

Surgery Postponed

Meghan's surgery has been postponed until April 27.  She has been sick with a viral bug and now she has a UTI.  She has felt so bad for the past week.  I'm so happy she is beginning to feel and act like herself.

Jennifer & Meghan Update

Jennifer's team came in 5th place out of 8.  I was very proud of them.  They worked hard and it showed.  All of the teams worked hard and did their best. 

Meghan will be having eye surgery on March 23.  The doctor said nothing had changed and he felt the best route to go was the surgery.  It is an outpatient surgery!!  Please keep Meghan in your prayers.  Sending her into surgery never gets any easier.  It's the hardest thing I've ever had to do.  God helps me with it, but I still struggle terribly. 

Battle of the Books

Jennifer will be competing in the Battle of the Books tomorrow afternoon.  To prepare for the competition the students have 12 books that must be read.  The competition consists of answering questions with the name of the books and the author.  They have put a lot of time and effort into preparing.  Wishing Jenn and her team lots of luck!!!!

Preparing for Prom

It's hard to believe Tiffany will be going to the prom this year!  April 30 is the big day!!  The dress and shoes have been bought.  Now to find the accessories and makeup!!  She has to let Chris know what tux to get!!  He wants to wear camo and boots!!  How did she grow up to be 17 so fast???  It seems like yesterday she was Meghan's age.  I will post some pictures of her soon. 

Since November

Since the DMSA test in November...Meghan had to have the deflux bladder procedure.  It was a success.  The urine is not reflexing anymore!!!!!  Which means NO MORE DAILY ANTIBIOTIC!!!!!  We still have to cath, but that's okay.  Feeding therapy is going great.  Sarah gave us a Pigeon nipple to try.  It has made a world of difference in how Meghan drinks her bottle.  She has even gained 3-4 pounds!!  They were really concerned about her not gaining weight.  Neuro is watching her head size again.  It's possible that the shunt may be taking off too much fluid.  At least her shunt is programmable so if it needs to be changed it can be done in the office.  They said since it has been the same for 3 visits in a row that we can come back in May.  Meghan may have eye surgery in March.  We will find out definitely on March 9. She can sit pretty much by herself now.  She is eating mostly table food now!!  The sitter has been feeding her ravioli, pop tarts, string beans, beanie weanies, etc!!!  She does not like the sippy cup so far, but we will keep trying.  

Ray and I were married on October 12, 1997.  We have 3 beautiful daughters, Tiffany (17), Jennifer (11) and Meghan (14 months).  Ray is a tobacco farmer.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be living on a farm!!  But I wouldn't change a thing about it! We thought our family was complete until I found out I was pregnant with Meghan.  Ray says life is tough living in a house full of women, but I think he loves it!!