Where to begin…Kendall is so special. So happy, content, and smiley!
I had been around my share babies in my life, but when Kendall was born weighing three pounds, give or take a few ounces, I was afraid to hold her. When I did hold her, wow! It was like cradling a feather. As the months passed and she gained weight slowly in spite of her aversion to eating, I took the arrogant “grandmother who knows it all” attitude. I thought I could get her to take a bottle. It took awhile but I soon realized that something was not right.
One day at work, just before lunch time, Kevin called me from the hospital to say a geneticist was coming to explain the diagnosis. I rushed to be there. What the doctor said that day is now a blur. I only vividly recall Cathy’s sobbing, Kevin’s blank stare and the doctor’s matter-of-fact voice. From that moment on life was different, the future unknown.
Well the future is still unknown, but the present is filled with love. This little girl is so precious and teaches me each day that life is what we make it. As I see Kendall with her arms folded across her chest and realize she is mimicking me with my arms folded across my chest, my heart fills with love. The unknown has been revealed. I now notice the little things and know they are not so little after all.
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Thank you for this post – it brought tears to my eyes, and reminded me of how lucky our children are to have you.
I could comment on every entry I read on this site. It feel like I am a child let loose in a candy store or amusement park. I have never been able to interact with some who has a child with WHS. I see few comments so I don’t know if it is ok to respond to everything. I want to respond to your Nana entry though. My family was unable to embrace Rochelle as readily as you have been able to respond to Kendall. As parents they did not want me to be “burdened” with a child with disabilities. They are from a generation that was ashamed to have someone with a disability in the family. Rochelle has changed their attitudes. They love her and value her as an equal member of our family. They are very proud of her, but it has been a rocky road. I am so glad to read your entry and see that modern grandparents are free to see all their grandchildren positively. It fills me with hope for the futures of children and families affected by disability.