Julie is one busy woman, as she’s a doula (birth and postpartum), prenatal educator, breastfeeding counselor, artist, newspaper columnist, blogger, and writer. She also creates and facilitates workshops and private sessions for women who have experienced a traumatic or difficult birth. Her husband Tim is a network specialist and works at an atomic energy plant.<\/p>\n
Julie, would you share your special needs journey with DifferentDream.com readers?<\/strong><\/p>\n Meredith was born on December 5, 2003, after a full-term pregnancy and a normal labor. Sadly, she aspirated at the time of birth resulting in an abrupt lack of oxygen and consequently a profound brain injury. We unexpectedly and suddenly became parents of a child with special needs and medical fragility. She is and will always be our only child.<\/p>\n How has parenting Meredith changed you and your husband?<\/strong><\/p>\n Becoming parents of Meredith has enriched our lives and expanded our minds and spirits in ways that I am not sure we could have experienced otherwise. It has not been an easy journey, and dealing with the grief and joy and all of the trials and tribulations that have made up the last eight years has been the greatest experience of our lives. I have taken this as an opportunity to grow as a person as opposed to becoming bitter and burdened or crushed by life not going in the direction I had anticipated or planned.<\/p>\n How has your family been most encouraged and supported since Meredith\u2019s birth?<\/strong><\/p>\n We moved back to the small town where I was born and raised when Meredith was just nine months old. Being in this environment surrounded by people who know my extended family has been a blessing. Community support and, of course, the support we receive from local agencies and government funding has made it possible to continue to care for Meredith at home. We also learned (eventually!) how to ask for help and accept support from others.<\/p>\n What Would You Like to Tell Julie?<\/strong><\/p>\n Well, that’s Julie’s story so far. As was mentioned before, she’ll be back tomorrow to tell about her original essay going viral and how that changed life for their family. Until then, you can read What I Would Tell You<\/span><\/em><\/a> and leave a comment about how her advice resonates with you.<\/p>\n Julie Keon’s Advice for Parents, Part 2<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Do you like what you see at DifferentDream.com? You can receive more great content by subscribing to the quarterly Different Dream newsletter and signing up for the daily RSS feed delivered to your email inbox. You can sign up for the first in the pop-up box and the second at the bottom of this page.<\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column_inner][\/et_pb_row_inner][et_pb_row_inner _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column_inner saved_specialty_column_type=”3_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ background_color=”#b4dbc0″ custom_padding=”20px|20px|20px|20px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_blurb title=”@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9hdXRob3IiLCJzZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJiZWZvcmUiOiJCeSAiLCJhZnRlciI6IiIsIm5hbWVfZm9ybWF0IjoiZGlzcGxheV9uYW1lIiwibGluayI6Im9uIiwibGlua19kZXN0aW5hdGlvbiI6ImF1dGhvcl9hcmNoaXZlIn19@” image=”@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9hdXRob3JfcHJvZmlsZV9waWN0dXJlIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnt9fQ==@” icon_placement=”left” image_icon_width=”100px” content_max_width=”800px” _builder_version=”4.16″ _dynamic_attributes=”image,title” header_font=”Rubik|500|||||||” header_text_color=”#44465f” header_font_size=”14px” header_line_height=”32px” body_font=”Rubik||||||||” body_text_color=”rgba(0,6,69,0.6)” body_link_text_color=”#ffffff” custom_css_main_element=”font-weight: 400;” border_radii_image=”on|100px|100px|100px|100px” border_color_all_image=”#ffffff” box_shadow_style_image=”preset1″ box_shadow_vertical_image=”20px” box_shadow_blur_image=”40px” box_shadow_color_image=”rgba(68,70,95,0.27)” image_max_width=”100px” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Jolene Philo is the author of several books for the caregiving community. She speaks at parenting and special needs conferences around the country. Sharing Love Abundantly with Special Needs Families: The 5 Love Languages\u00ae for Parents Raising Children with Disabilities<\/a>, which she co-authored with Dr. Gary Chapman, was released in August of 2019 and is available at local bookstores, their bookstore website, and Amazon. See Jane Dance!<\/a>, the third book in the West River cozy mystery series, which features characters affected by disability, was released in October of 2023.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_blurb][\/et_pb_column_inner][\/et_pb_row_inner][et_pb_row_inner _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column_inner saved_specialty_column_type=”3_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_comments _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#42313A” button_bg_color=”#EBDCB2″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_comments][\/et_pb_column_inner][\/et_pb_row_inner][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_sidebar _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_sidebar][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ use_background_color_gradient=”on” background_color_gradient_direction=”159deg” background_color_gradient_stops=”#42313A 0%|#EBDCB2 100%” background_color_gradient_start=”#42313A” background_color_gradient_end=”#EBDCB2″ custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px|false|false” border_width_all=”3px” border_color_all=”#1c1259″ saved_tabs=”all” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ width=”100%” max_width=”100%” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”25px|0px|5px|0px|false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ module_class=”horizontal_optin_column_1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ header_text_align=”right” header_text_color=”#45107a” header_3_font=”Dancing Script|700|||||||” header_3_text_align=”center” header_3_text_color=”#B4DBC0″ header_3_font_size=”45px” custom_margin=”10px||||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_signup mailchimp_list=”JolenePhilo|89f719a52b” layout=”bottom_top” first_name_fullwidth=”off” last_name_field=”off” email_fullwidth=”off” module_class=”custom_emailoptin” _builder_version=”4.16″ form_field_focus_background_color=”#42313A” background_enable_color=”off” custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”16px” button_text_color=”#42313A” button_bg_color=”#B4DBC0″ button_border_width=”2px” button_border_radius=”0px” button_font=”|||on|||||” button_use_icon=”off” button_custom_margin=”5px||||false|false” button_custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px|false|false” custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px|false|false” border_width_all_fields=”2px” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_signup][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”0px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ header_font=”EB Garamond|600|||||||” header_text_color=”#B6452C” header_font_size=”50px” header_text_shadow_style=”preset1″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_blog fullwidth=”off” posts_number=”3″ include_categories=”current” show_more=”on” _builder_version=”4.16″ header_text_color=”#42313A” meta_font=”||on||||||” read_more_font=”|||on|||||” read_more_text_color=”#B6452C” read_more_font_size=”12px” pagination_text_color=”#B6452C” pagination_font_size=”20px” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_blog][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Julie Keon authored of What I Would Tell You, an essay for parents new to the world of special needs. Today, she shares about parenting Meredith, age 8 1\/2. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43909,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"Subscribe for Updates from Jolene<\/h3>\n
Related Posts<\/h1>\n
![\"Julie](\"http:\/\/differentdream.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Meredith-B-140.jpg\" "\\"Julie")
<\/a>\n\nJulie Keon is the author of What I Would Tell You<\/em><\/a>, an essay she wrote for parents new to the world of special needs. The essay went viral, so Julie created a blog, www.whatiwouldtellyou.com<\/a>, to reach out those touched by her story. Today, she shares about her and her husband's experience as parents of Meredith, age eight and a half. Tomorrow<\/a>, she'll be back with the story of how What I Would Tell You<\/em> went viral.\n\nJulie is one busy woman as she's a doula (birth and postpartum), prenatal educator, breastfeeding counselor, artist, Newspaper columnist, blogger and writer. She also creates and facilitates workshops and private sessions for women who have experienced a traumatic or difficult birth. Her husband Tim is a network specialist and works at an atomic energy plant.\nJulie, would you share your special needs journey with DifferentDream.com readers?<\/h4>\nMeredith was born on December 5th 2003 after a full term pregnancy and a normal labor. Sadly, she aspirated at the time of birth resulting in an abrupt lack of oxygen and consequently a profound brain injury. We unexpectedly and suddenly became parents of a child with special needs and medical fragility. She is and will always be our only child.\n
How has parenting Meredith changed you and your husband?<\/h4>\nBecoming parents of Meredith has enriched our lives and expanded our minds and spirits in ways that I am not sure we could have experienced otherwise. It has not been an easy journey and dealing with the grief and joy and all of the trials and tribulations that make up the last eight years has been the greatest experience of our lives. I have taken this as an opportunity to grow as a person as opposed to becoming bitter and burdened\/ crushed by life not going in the direction I had anticipated or planned.\n
How has your family been most encouraged and supported since Meredith\u2019s birth?<\/h4>\nWe moved back to the small town where I was born and raised when Meredith was just nine months old. Being in this environment surrounded by people who know my extended family has been a blessing. Community support and of course, the support we receive from local agencies and government funding has made it possible to continue to care for Meredith at home. We also learned (eventually!) how to ask for help and accept support from others.\n
What Would You Like to Tell Julie?<\/h3>\nWell, that's Julie's story so far. As was mentioned before, she'll be back tomorrow to tell about her original essay going viral and how that changed life for their family. Until then, you can read What I Would Tell You<\/em><\/a> and leave a comment about how her advice resonates with you.\n\nPart 2<\/a>\n\nDo you like what you see at DifferentDream.com? You can receive more great content by subscribing to the quarterly Different Dream newsletter and signing up for the daily RSS feed delivered to your email inbox. You can sign up for the first in the pop up box and the second at the bottom of this page.<\/em>","_et_gb_content_width":"2880","footnotes":""},"categories":[3559,3574,3561],"tags":[3735,3736,3737,3738],"class_list":["post-6970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-different-dream","category-self-care-and-stress","category-special-needs-parenting","tag-birth-injury","tag-julie-keon","tag-oxygen-deprivation","tag-what-i-would-tell-you"],"yoast_head":"\n