I'm the Mommy to a Miracle

Good Morning Y'all!

I can't believe that it is the 2nd Annual Arthrogryposis Multiplex Cogenita Awareness Day! On this day, I want to share with you why wearing blue matters!

You may think that donning a blue shirt, blue polish or even a blue wig are not a big deal, but trust me they are!!! When I see pictures of all our family and friends, I am reminded of how many lives our Jackson has touched! I work with lots of families that are touched by MANY disabilities, like Autism, Developmental Delay and a host of others! However, when I turn on the news or read the paper, there is likely a story about Autism or childhood cancer and they matter, but until 5 years ago, I had NEVER heard of AMC and trust me, it matters too!

The mortality rate for AMC has been quoted by many professionals as 50% in utero! 50%! So today, when you put on your blue, please remember those AMC Angels and those of us who have our babies here. Everyday, I get to wake up to a miracle! Thank you for loving him and us!

A Sacrifice....

This morning on the radio, I heard the story of David Roth, father to Michael Roth, pitcher for the University of South Carolina's baseball team. David wanted to see his son play in the College World Series, which he missed last year because of work. He was determined to see his son play this year and when basically faced with a boss who told him he had no vacation time left, so he couldn't go to Omaha, Michael quit his job! You can check out the whole story here.

This story hit very close to home for me. You see, Michael was faced with the same ultimatum many parents of kiddos with special needs or dif-abilities face daily. We don't have to make a choice whether to see our kids play baseball, but we do have make the choice of caring for our kids, which means therapies, doctor's appointments, brace fittings, etc or go to work. Almost 4 years ago, I was in fact basically told to choose my job or my Jackson; that was a simple one! I did and will ALWAYS choose my child (and my family).

I'm am thankful to have a flexible job now, but in the work I do, I can't tell you how many parents and/or caregivers I speak to who have to make a choice to quit their job and care for their child to only be told they still don't qualify for services!