{"id":42760,"date":"2024-03-13T08:52:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-13T13:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/differentdream.com\/?p=42760"},"modified":"2024-03-13T08:52:00","modified_gmt":"2024-03-13T13:52:00","slug":"choosing-acceptance-and-advocacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jolenephilo.com\/staging\/choosing-acceptance-and-advocacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Choosing Acceptance and Advocacy as Parents of Kids with Disabilities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_fullwidth_post_title featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”4.16″ title_font=”||||||||” title_text_color=”#42313A” title_font_size=”40px” meta_font_size=”14px” background_color=”#B4DBC0″ custom_padding=”50px||50px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_fullwidth_post_title][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ specialty=”on” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”0px||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”3_4″ specialty_columns=”3″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row_inner _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column_inner saved_specialty_column_type=”3_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_image src=”@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9mZWF0dXJlZF9pbWFnZSIsInNldHRpbmdzIjp7fX0=@” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.16″ _dynamic_attributes=”src” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.22.2″ hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]

Choosing acceptance and advocacy as parents of kids with disabilities takes time. Today\u2019s guest blogger, who wishes to remain anonymous, talks about making that choice as a parent many years ago and using what she learned to assist parents of her students who are struggling to make that choice today.<\/em><\/p>\n

There\u2019s nothing to worry about.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This ordinary statement, from the lips of the pediatrician, a few hours after my daughter\u2019s silent birth, cut my life into two halves.<\/p>\n

Before, I was an unsuspecting mother to be with an I-can-handle-it approach to life. A happy-go-lucky Christian woman who somehow thought faith was a shield to protect her from the worst life has to offer.<\/p>\n

But as I absorbed this statement, somehow, in my core I knew that this pediatrician was mistaken, and so was my worldview. There definitely was something to worry about. My precious daughter was fighting for her life, and I had better start fighting for it too.<\/p>\n

The events that transpired are another long story, but in a nutshell, our daughter was correctly re-diagnosed with EA\/TEF<\/a><\/span> in another hospital. Then, at three days old, she underwent a successful repair operation.<\/p>\n

We could finally breathe again.<\/strong><\/p>\n

However, her struggles did not disappear. The months and years after her birth saw her back in hospital again and again with alarming frequency, as she coped with pneumonia, chest infections, and food blockages. Meanwhile, she struggled to swallow on a daily basis. My preconceived ideas of family life were turned upside down and inside out as I just struggled to feed her and stagger from one round of antibiotics to the next.*<\/p>\n

So that pediatrician\u2019s statement had well and truly thrown me into the second, more sober half of my life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t hold any hard feelings towards him. After that surgery, I went back to the first hospital to find him. I explained the diagnosis, I hope, kindly. He had not read my medical notes which stated I had polyhydramnios (too much amniotic fluid) during my pregnancy. I later learned this was a warning sign of EA\/TEF<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Fast forward 19 years and here I am, an Early Years Teacher. Sometimes this job entails the unenviable task of conveying difficult messages to parents.<\/p>\n