Category Archives: Children

The Best Line of Poetry…Ever

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TheBestLineofPoetry

We went to a Williams Syndrome Conference over the weekend, and we had a fantastic time. (Thank you to everyone who organized it and to all of the speakers!) It’s bizarre how, after 2 years of completely immersing myself in “all that is WS,” I still have so much more to learn. I’ve certainly come a long way from the confused mom who received a diagnosis that she’d never heard of before, but there’s still a long way to go. We haven’t even had our first IEP meeting with the school system yet, and I’ve heard those can be a doozy!

My favorite session at the Conference was a panel of 4 adults (1 man + 3 women) who have Williams syndrome. I was so moved by what they had to say and, also, by how much they’re accomplishing in their lives. In the beginning, I worried that having WS would be so limiting for Emmy, but there are adults who live completely independently, hold down paying jobs that they enjoy, and drive cars. I think there are a lot of misconceptions about WS and its “limitations,” and it was inspiring to hear these adults focus on their many abilities, not their disability.

And then I heard something that floored me — the best line of poetry EVER.

One of the women was talking about her best friend of 14 years, who is “typical.”

What I learned early on is that people in the special needs community (and educators, therapists, etc.) don’t use the word “normal” to describe someone who doesn’t have special needs. Because: (1) The opposite of normal is “abnormal,” and it’s cruel to call someone “abnormal.” (2) What is normal anyway??? I mean, really. Can we even define that word? I certainly don’t think I’m normal…

If you use the word “typical” instead of “normal,” I promise that you will impress all your friends. 🙂

So this woman, who I immediately adored, was talking about her typical friend. And she said: “She sees me as she sees herself.”

I swear that is the most amazing line of poetry I’ve ever heard: “She sees me as she sees herself.”

And it got me thinking: What if we were to see other people as we see ourselves?

The dad rooting for his son even though he’s on the other team…

The cashier who is taking her time even though you want to get home…

The person who is fishing for his MetroCard before getting in the subway turnstile even though he’s holding up the whole line…

The person with special needs who wants to talk to you…

What if we see others as we see ourselves?

What if we were to approach each day looking at strangers and thinking: You know, we’re a lot more alike than we are different…

I’ll give it a go. Why not?

And I’ll close by saying that I am so touched by people who truly befriend those with special needs. It’s easy to judge someone who is different. It’s much more genuine and beautiful and human to connect with that person and find the ways in which you are more alike, than different.

The Little Things

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TheLittleThings

When Emmy was first diagnosed with Williams syndrome, I talked to other moms who told me that I would appreciate the little things more. But I didn’t really know what that meant. First of all, at the time I was really upset about the diagnosis and didn’t want to appreciate the little things more. I just wanted Emmy to be miraculously cured. Second, I thought I had already been appreciating the little things with my first daughter, Charlotte, so I couldn’t imagine how I could appreciate them any more. And, finally, I didn’t know which little things they were talking about.

Until I experienced them for myself…

The first time my older daughter, Charlotte, put a toy phone to her ear, and said “Hello,” I thought, “Awww that’s cute.” I didn’t gasp in shock or run to get my camera. It’s expected that a typical child would put a phone to her ear. When a typical child plays pretend, the parent doesn’t go bonkers with excitement. It’s just expected.

Likewise, playing with a toy phone is not considered a milestone. Most parents of typical children could tell you exactly when their child took her first step or said her first word. But they probably couldn’t tell you the first time their child played pretend.

And there isn’t a spot for “first time playing pretend” in the baby book. First word, first day of kindergarten, first tooth, first haircut are all in the book with a blank line for date accomplished…nothing about “first time playing pretend.”

With typical kids, milestones like walking and talking are a big deal. But other smaller things seem to just happen. There’s not a ton of effort put forth by parents and therapists and doctors and other cheerleaders. Things just happen.

Many things with Emmy have been slow to arrive. It wasn’t like I blinked, and suddenly she was using crayons to draw on paper. We practiced a lot. Every time I see her take a crayon on her own and start drawing, I feel an overwhelming sense of joy. That one was a long time coming, and now it feels so good to see her scribbling away.

So in order to get Emmy to play pretend, we practiced. We put clothes on baby dolls. We cooked toy food in little pots and pans. We wheeled toy trains around a track and demonstrated how to say “Choo choo!”

We put toy phones to our ears and said, “Hello, Mommy. Hello, Daddy.”

And when Emmy spontaneously put a toy phone to her ear and said, “Hello,” I let it all sink in and appreciated every single second of that small gesture.

Right now, she imitates us a lot. But when she was younger, she would just watch intently. I used to push trains around the track, while her eyes were fixed on my every action. I would think, “Is she getting this?” And then, a few days or weeks or months later, she would totally impress me by imitating my exact motion and vocal expression. She was paying attention! She was drinking it all in and then showing off her skills in her own time.

I believe that she gets it long before she actually shows it.

And, as I’ve learned to follow Emmy’s pace, there have been many benefits:

1. I don’t make myself crazy with baby/toddler milestone books. I can’t tell you the last time I looked at one of those books, but I think Emmy was probably a few months old. Why fixate on a timeline that probably won’t apply to her and will just make me frustrated?

2. I burst with pride when she hits a big or small milestone. I don’t grumble, “Jeez that took forever.” Instead, I say, “AHHHHH!!! Look what she’s doing!!! Go Emmy!”

3. I really do appreciate the little things more. Here are a few things she did that knocked my socks off and caused me to savor every second:

-She “drove” a car at an amusement park without any prompting. The way she turned the wheel was just glorious. There’s a picture at the bottom of this blog entry: https://williamssyndromesmile.com/2013/09/04/when-you-really-really-really-need-a-vacation/

-She started finishing songs and doing the hand motions. I probably sang “Wheels on the Bus” 7,895 times without her joining in. And then, one day, I started to hear this little voice finish the lines with me. Music to my ears.

-This is a big one. In the past, when she’s been ready to take a nap, I asked “Nap?” and she responded, “Nap!” But lately, when I ask “Nap?” she responds, “Book!” because she knows that I always read her a book before putting her down for a nap. It seems like no big deal, right? If a typical child said, “Book,” it probably wouldn’t be cause for excitement. But it shows that she’s remembering what comes before and after. She gets it.

For me, appreciating the little things hasn’t revolved around the usual milestones. When she started walking, of course I was ecstatic. It was awesome to witness, and I loved cheering her on. But I’ve felt just as much excitement, if not more, over something much smaller — like the day she spontaneously picked up a toy phone and said, “Hello.”

Pint-Sized Professor

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PintSizedProfessor

We’ve been knee-deep in questions lately. At four years old, Charlotte wants to know everything about everything.

I LOVE her curiosity and sharp memory. She really tries to delve down into the essence of any topic. However, the ongoing questions often cause me to realize that I am pretty clueless about the world in which I live. Or I know the answer but can’t explain it very well (especially when it’s, like, 6:30 am).

“What time exactly do skunks come out at night?”

“What does the word ‘theme’ mean?”

“Who are all of the characters in Batman?”

At the zoo, we saw a sign in front of the empty wolf cage that said the wolf was out for surgery. So she asked, “Can you tell me all the possible reasons that a wolf would have surgery?”

WOAH!

And this one was my absolute favorite:

She asked me if I played video games when I was a kid, so I said that I used to play a game called Super Mario Brothers.

Then she asked, “Can you tell me everything about Super Mario Brothers?”

So I replied, “Well, there were 8 levels…I think. And you had to rescue a princess…”

And then she said, “Can you tell me about all of the bad guys?”

I’m pretty sure there were about 500 bad guys in Super Mario Brothers. And most of them are hard to describe, like that brown mushroom thing that you jumped on…but I tried to tell her about every one I could remember.

Here’s the thing: Even though she’s the one asking the questions, she ends up teaching me more than I could ever learn on my own.

We were at my friend’s house this summer, and Charlotte wanted to try swimming in her pool. She is still very much learning how to swim. We practice every once in a while, but she’s just in the beginning stages of learning.

When she got in the water and wasn’t able to swim PERFECTLY, she freaked out. She bawled hysterically and said, “I want to do it! I want to swim!” She had only practiced a couple times and already wanted to be an expert.

I said, “Charlotte, you just started swimming, honey. It’s going to take some time to get really good.”

And she cried, “I don’t want to wait. I want to be perfect now.”

This is SO me. I want to be an expert at everything I do right off the bat. I get frustrated when I can’t master something after 2 seconds of trying. I don’t have a lot of fortitude in the face of adversity. After years and years and years of living like this, I am trying like heck to change. I don’t WANT to be a perfectionist. It holds me back. To me, being a perfectionist doesn’t mean being perfect at everything. It means fear of failure to the point where I won’t try new things unless I know I can succeed.

The strange part is that I was sure I hadn’t passed this down to Charlotte.

I’m conscious of this trait, so I don’t even utter the word “perfect.” I encourage her to just have fun. I am incredibly aware of this thing that I have — this drive for perfection — and how much it holds me back, so I am careful about everything I say to my kids in this regard.

Now that I’m learning more about genetics, I’m convinced that I’ve passed my traits down to Charlotte without even intending to. I think she got the perfection gene.

On the long drive back to our house, I tried to reiterate to Charlotte that she should just have fun and put in hard work and not worry about being perfect because, frankly, there is no such thing! I told her that it’s also ok not to be the best at everything. I was very proud of my speech! Life lesson #375 in the books!

Then she said, “Mom, have you ever not been the best at something?”

ARG ARG ARG. And, now, we turn it around on me.

I have such a hard time admitting the times when I’ve failed. These are certainly not my proudest moments.

But my pint-sized professor wanted an answer.

So I responded, “Sure, it’s happened a lot.”

“Can you give me an example?” came the voice from the back.

ARG. ARG. ARG.

Swallowing my pride, I cheerily said, “Of course! Let’s see…there was the time that I didn’t make the All State Band. That really hurt. But I also realized it was because I didn’t practice my scales.”

Phew. It was good to get that off my chest. And now we could move on to —

“Mom,” came the voice from the back. “Can you give me another example of a time you weren’t the best?”

I took a deep breath and put on a smile. “Sure! There was the time that I got a bad grade on an essay, and I was disappointed because I worked really hard on it.”

Ok, now for another topic —

“Mom…can you give me another example of a time you weren’t the best?”

My ego was officially crushed. For the hour long ride, I had to come up with every example I could think of. Charlotte wanted it all. A perfectionist doesn’t like to admit defeat, and I had to spell out all of the failings I could remember — in excruciating detail.

When we arrived back home, I thought about paying her for the therapy session. A teacher and a therapist in the same package!

Charlotte doesn’t just want to hear the talk. She wants me to walk the walk. If I tell her to just have fun and not worry about being the best, it’s meaningless. I have to show her how I’ve done it in my own life. And, gosh, I’m still working on that one.

What I love is that she’s the teacher as much as she’s the student. Her beautifully probing, curious questions get right to the core of who I am. And, for my pint-sized professor, I’ll do anything.

Finding a Home

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FindingaHome

I forget that Emmy has a Congenital Heart Defect. I don’t know if other Williams syndrome parents feel this way, but I am very much focused on all of the various aspects of Williams syndrome…the heart defect seems almost secondary.

It SOUNDS ridiculous. Her heart is what’s keeping her going. Her heart is essential for life.

But when we found out she has Williams syndrome, those were the only 2 words I Googled. Not “Congenital Heart Defect.”

It could be that people with Williams syndrome can have a host of medical issues, so I was trying to absorb the laundry list of possible problems instead of focusing on just one.

It could be that I’m not a medical expert, so it’s much easier for me to research and comprehend other aspects of Williams syndrome.

It could be that I STILL have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that Emmy was born with a serious Congenital Heart Defect, had open-heart surgery this past May, suffered 2 cardiac arrests, and spent a week on life support.

Whatever the reason, I’ve always seen Emmy falling directly into the Williams syndrome camp. And, therefore, the Williams syndrome support groups were initially my home.

But over the past year, I’ve found a home in another support group too — one for parents of children with Congenital Heart Defects.

I’m the only one in the group who has a child with Williams syndrome. But the people I’ve met as part of the group totally GET IT. They have been so loving and supportive and helpful and encouraging. When someone says to you, “I hear you. I understand,” it’s the best thing in the world.

So when we went to a Congenital Heart Defect walk over the weekend, I was so happy to see all of my support group buddies and a team of people from the hospital who came out to walk with us.

And there is one special mom, who I won’t write about in too much detail here — to respect her privacy. But I walked on a team for her sweet son. He was only 1 week older than Emmy.

And, when Emmy went into cardiac arrest earlier this year, this very special mom dropped everything to come to the hospital — even though she had lost her son in that very same hospital, on that very same floor, only 3 weeks prior. You don’t find people like that every day.

So now I’ve found two homes — one in the Williams syndrome community, and the other in the Congenital Heart Defect community.

And it’s become so clear that I NEED support. In the past, I would’ve been way too ashamed to join a support group. I would’ve been too afraid to show weakness. I would’ve shouted from the rooftops that “I can do this all by myself!”

Now I’ve grown wiser. When I’m in a support group, I learn from others who have walked this path before. I lean on others when I can’t stand on my own. And I hope that I give something in return — even if it’s just sharing our story.

I also love to laugh. And support groups can be a Cry Fest. Sometimes.

But, usually? Usually, we’re laughing.

Loud and Proud

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LoudandProud

The average person wouldn’t know that Emmy has Williams syndrome. First of all, it’s a rare (1 in 10,000) genetic condition that most people haven’t heard of. And, secondly, to the untrained eye, she outwardly looks and acts like any other child. If you’re not an expert on genetics, you probably would have a hard time picking a child with Williams syndrome out of a crowd.

This applies to many other syndromes as well. Since finding out that Emmy has a genetic condition, I’ve met other families who have revealed their own child’s diagnosis. And, just looking at them, I would have had no idea.

So I don’t have to tell anybody.

Nobody needs to know.

It can be a secret between me, my family, and the school system.

These ideas went through my head in the beginning, when we first found out. Especially because a doctor told me that I shouldn’t reveal her diagnosis until I knew someone really well. She told me that people can be confused and, later, cruel. I became terrified that other people would hate us; hate our family — just because we were different. I had an image of everyone gathered at a neighborhood picnic, and our family showing up. In my head, I saw the heads in the crowd turn to look at us and whisper among themselves that we were “that family.”

I saw it because I knew it.

When I was growing up, we had people in my town who were different. And everyone knew who they were. There was the guy who always walked around town because he couldn’t drive — because he has special needs. I always saw him at the park and the coffee shop. I was aware of the fact that he was different. And I wasn’t anywhere near as open-minded and curious as I am now.

When I was growing up, I casually noticed him, but I never spoke to him. I should have said “hello.” I should have been friendly and welcoming. I have learned SO MUCH about other people and their differences since finding out about my own daughter. That has been one of the many gifts she’s given me.

Recently, I drove around my old town, and I saw that very same guy walking down the street. I swear I cried at the wheel. All of a sudden, I became more aware of who he was. I became curious about his story. And I also reflected back on the kindness of others. I thought about the people who had talked to him at the coffee shop and shook his hand at the park. I now believe that there are more loving and caring people in this world than there are cruel people.

I believe that those who love will embrace our family enough to drown out that small faction of cruelty.

So I write this blog and share our story, loud and proud.

The response has been incredible. I don’t feel like “the others.” On the contrary. I’ve been so moved by the number of people who have accepted us — and appreciated us — just as we are. This is my family. This is reality. I can’t change who we are, and I don’t want to.

When I found out about Emmy’s diagnosis, I had some incredible phone conversations with other Williams syndrome moms, which I will never forget. I remember telling one of the moms that I was too scared to reveal Emmy’s syndrome — too afraid that the other moms on the playground would ostracize me.

She replied, “If that happens, you need to silently thank them. They’re showing you who they are — right off the bat, and you wouldn’t have wanted to be friends with them anyway.”

I take that with me. She’s absolutely right. I wouldn’t have wanted to be friends with those people anyway. And the people I have met as a result of sharing Emmy’s diagnosis? They’ve been amazing.

Gratitude

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Gratitude

I have a confession. I can be kind of a complainer.

You probably wouldn’t know it from reading this blog because:

(1) I’m not really focusing on the trivial things about my life. I’m not going to put my to-do list on here, though I would really like for everyone to help me tackle it collectively! 😉

(2) Most of my complaints come when I’m talking. When I sit down to write, I’m able to hone in on the positive.

(3) I am constantly striving to be optimistic. It’s a personal goal of mine. So I’m trying to put the good energy out there!

But, really, I can be kind of a complainer. It’s a quality that I very much dislike about myself and one that I’m trying to change.

So I am proud of a huge stride I made in that direction yesterday!

Yesterday was my 35th birthday. I’m a big, big birthday person. I’ve always enjoyed my birthdays. That has changed slightly as I’ve gotten older and found a few grey hairs but, for the most part, bring on the presents and the cake!

But yesterday didn’t feel much like a birthday — at first. Earlier in the week, Emmy and I traveled to Kentucky to meet with a wonderful team of Williams syndrome researchers, and yesterday was our flight home. Due to bad weather, we ended up getting stranded for 6 hours in our connecting airport, Charlotte (coincidentally, also the name of my older daughter!). This wasn’t just any 6 hours, but the 6 hours around dinner and sleep time. Yikes.

It had been a long trip, and I was exhausted. Not Emmy though! She wanted to run. The airport was packed with people waiting for delayed flights, and Emmy got her exercise running in and out of people and their luggage (with me trailing behind calling “Emmy! Emmy!”). This kid was having so much fun. If someone dared look her way, she would flash a huge smile, turn on her heel, and keep running. In the middle of the running, she would check back in with me for her supply of crackers to keep her going.

It occurred to me that chasing my kid through a busy airport for hours was not how I imagined spending my 35th birthday. It also occurred to me that this is the same kid that had heart surgery a couple months ago, and now her energy was limitless. When people remarked on how cute she was, I just wanted to grab them and say, “Let me tell you what she’s been through!”

When I managed to corral Emmy for 2 seconds, a fellow passenger came up to me and said, “They might cancel our flight altogether. They’re going to make the call at 9:00 pm.”

I stared at her blankly. I had already been at the airport for 6 hours, and this flight might still get canceled? I imagined finding a hotel room and then a taxi, all without our checked luggage and spare diapers. I imagined Emmy jumping on the hotel bed at midnight. I looked over at the flight board. Every flight going to our destination said “Cancelled” next to it. Except ours. Ours still said “Delayed.” There was literally a column of red “Cancelled”s and then our beautiful flight — a shining beacon of hope — that was still holding strong.

And 15 minutes later, they made the call that we were going to take off! I nearly hugged the person next to me. I was suddenly filled with so much gratitude.

We took off around 10:00 pm. Emmy curled up on my sweatshirt, and slept the whole flight. She’s actually quite good on planes. Whenever we board, people always look at me like, “You seriously brought a child on this flight?!” And then when we land, they give me big smiles and say, “She was so GOOD! So QUIET!” She knows how to make friends…

So Emmy slept, and I sat there thinking about my 35th birthday, which was nearly over. I could complain about everything under the sun. For sure, there was A LOT to complain about. I could go on for days.

Or I could switch my mindset to gratitude.

I could start with “thank you”s.

My daughter, who had heart surgery a few months ago, was just running around. Thank you. Furthermore, our flight was the only flight that wasn’t cancelled. Thank you. We were going home! I couldn’t wait to see my older daughter, Charlotte, and I also couldn’t wait to see my husband. Thank you.

I decided that I didn’t want to ruin my birthday with complaints. I wanted to enjoy it. So, while Emmy slept, and as I felt the plane hum under my feet, I kept running a list in my head of things to be thankful for.

I told myself: There are many reasons to want and many reasons to be unhappy. We can find them almost anywhere. Today, I choose to be thankful for what I have.

It was an important lesson for year 35.

And when I saw my sweet husband at the airport, with a big bunch of yellow roses, I was so thankful that he knows that birthdays are special to me too.

For all that I could possibly complain about, today is different. Today I choose to be thankful.

The Secret I Didn’t Know I Was Keeping

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Secret

I talk openly about Emmy having Williams syndrome. I don’t tell every stranger I meet but, if it comes up, I’m ok with sharing our experience.

When we first found out about Williams syndrome, when Emmy was 5 weeks old, we were advised not to publicize it just yet. A doctor told us that not everybody would understand what the diagnosis meant, and she wanted people to get to know our family before labeling us as “the others.” As time has gone on, and especially as I’ve gotten incredible support from those around me, I’ve felt much more comfortable sharing our story. I know that some people keep quiet about a diagnosis because they don’t like that their child has a label. But I believe Emmy is much more than a label. If I believe that, and I project it, then I’m hoping others will see Emmy in the same light–as a whole person.

But, in my openness, there was still one person left to tell…

Charlotte is 4 years old, and I was waiting until she was 6 to sit her down and tell her a story that another mom relayed to me. She told the same story to her 6 year old daughter about her son, who has Williams syndrome:

If we look at ourselves as a book, we might be composed of chapters from 1-23. Well, some people are missing a couple pages from chapter 7. (Williams syndrome is caused by a deletion of a region on chromosome 7.) The book is still complete. You can understand the entire story as a whole. But, because there are a couple pages missing, there are some differences from a person whose book isn’t missing a couple pages…

I had it all mapped out. I just needed to wait another 2 years for her to really get it.

While I was waiting, I realized that I couldn’t explain things to Charlotte fully. I couldn’t really explain why we have therapists coming to the house to work with Emmy. I couldn’t really explain why I take trips to Kentucky with Emmy to see a special team of researchers. I couldn’t really explain why she had a “boo-boo on her heart.” I couldn’t really say why we were doing walks with hundreds of people to raise awareness. Sure, I was coming up with decent explanations, but they weren’t getting to the real, core issue.

I longed to tell Charlotte that Emmy has Williams syndrome, but I didn’t know if she was ready. Honestly, I didn’t know if I was ready. I was worried that Charlotte would see her sister differently, and that thought terrified me.

I posed a question to our trusty Williams syndrome community. Was Charlotte too young? And, moreover, how do I even tell her? I knew the book/chapter analogy wouldn’t make sense for her age.

As always, I got lots of great advice. Most importantly, when telling Charlotte, I had to keep it simple and general. Only give her as much information as she needs. She will ask for more when she’s ready.

So, while we were having a nice, relaxing dinner, I exhaled and said, “Charlotte, have you ever heard the words ‘Williams syndrome’ before?”

She shook her head and said, “No. What’s that?”

I was really surprised! I thought, for sure, she had heard us say it. Though, usually, Dan and I say “WS” because it’s shorter.

And here is where my story falters… Because as confident as I felt 2 minutes prior, as much as I thought I was ready to tell her, I doubted my ability to deliver the message correctly. Whoopsie! I dug my hole and couldn’t get out. I gulped and looked over at Dan, raising my eyebrows helplessly.

He came to the rescue and explained that Emmy was born with something called Williams syndrome, and that means that she will do things differently. And that’s why she had heart surgery. And that’s why Mommy takes her to Kentucky. And that’s why teachers come to the house to help her practice going up and down the stairs. He finished with, “But we’re all different. So that’s ok. Everyone is different.”

Charlotte thought about it a second and then offered, “Just like Emmy has straight hair and I have curly hair?”

“Right,” Dan replied.

This launched Charlotte into a 10 minute discussion about her hair versus Emmy’s hair, which made me realize just how precious a 4 year old mind is.

Then the discussion tapered off. And, suddenly, I felt lighter. I didn’t even realize that I had been clinging so tightly to this secret that it was pulling me down. I hadn’t even considered it a secret. I just thought Charlotte wasn’t ready. But, in keeping it quiet, I felt like I wasn’t including her in our lives. Everyone else knew but Charlotte. I didn’t realize that the weight of her not knowing was affecting me so deeply. So I got up from the dinner table and, in doing so, I left that heavy anchor behind.

The Scar

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TheScar

I have to be honest. Before Emmy had heart surgery, I was really worried about the scar. Baby skin is so pure and soft. It symbolizes newness and promise and possibility. Whenever they show diaper commercials on tv, they zoom in on the baby’s chubby, soft, flawless skin.

Babies aren’t hardened adults with tough skin yet. They don’t know about the world and its difficulties. So the idea of cutting into Emmy’s gentle skin just slayed me.

Plus, I’m squeamish. I can faint at the sight of blood or anything resembling an open wound. When I was in middle school, I cut my finger in Woodshop class. I looked down at the blood and fainted, falling backwards and hitting my head on a metal filing cabinet. I was taken to the emergency room for the major gash in the back of my head, not the tiny cut on my finger.

So I was nervous. But I was desperate to be there for Emmy and not let my embarrassing squeamishness get in the way.

When Emmy first came home from the hospital, I was so happy to have her home that I felt like I shouldn’t care about the scar. My head told me to just be thankful that she was alive. But every time I glanced at the scar, I thought I was going to faint. From what I’ve seen of other kids, Emmy’s scar is particularly noticeable. Her surgery was back in May, and the scar still looks reddish pink. (Don’t worry — she doesn’t have an infection.) I think it’s because she was on life support for almost a week, and her chest remained open during that time. It didn’t heal as cleanly and quickly as some other scars I’ve seen.

Also, when she first came home, every time I looked at the scar, it brought back a rush of emotions. It reminded of the tough time she had after heart surgery and the fact that she almost didn’t make it. I felt like I was reliving it again and again and again. Those feelings have subsided a bit with time, although I can still go back to that hospital room in my mind with a word or a smell or the sight of an ID badge that says “Parent Pass.”

Emmy, on the other hand, seems quite comfortable with her scar! She points to it and say “boo boo.” She lifts up her shirt for people to see. One woman remarked that she seems proud of it. I hope she is. She sure earned it.

I want her to be proud of it as she gets older too. When we’re young, scars can be a badge of honor. And later in life, we can get more self-conscious. I have a scar over my eye from when I fell on my lunchbox as a kid. I never thought twice about it until I got older and started to critically examine my face in the mirror. “That needs to be plucked…that doesn’t look good…and, oh jeez, that scar…”

I hope I can continue to foster Emmy’s pride in her scar. A nurse recently said that she doesn’t like the term “congenital heart defect” because it attaches a negative connotation to something that kids should actually be proud of. They don’t have the scar because they’re defective. They have it because they are downright amazing.

I joined a group on Facebook called “Mended Little Hearts” for families of children with Congenital Heart Defects. Every time they post a picture of a little boy or girl and I see that scar peeking out from the top of a shirt, I feel an instant connection with a stranger.

“Emmy has that too,” I think.

The scar didn’t mar her skin like I feared it would. It didn’t take away from her beautiful, soft, gentle baby self. She still is my snuggly sweet little girl, full of promise and possibility. And now she has a badge of courage too.

These Are The Shoes

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These are the shoes that I first picked out for my baby girl, Emmy. I was so excited to have another baby and couldn’t wait to put her sweet little toes into these cute shoes. I pictured her walking around the playground, climbing up the steps to the slide, with these precious flowered shoes on her feet. I bought these shoes and put them in her drawer, waiting to embrace the day she took her first steps.

Well, she never wore them. They are still brand new.

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THESE were her first shoes. I’m not joking. A far cry from cute, eh?

Our first Physical Therapist (who was wonderful) determined that Emmy has low muscle tone and needed a more supportive shoe. She asked me to find some shoes at a thrift store which she was going to cut up (gulp). I scoured a thrift shop, using her specific instructions, and presented her with the cutest pink shoes I could find that still met her criteria. I was hanging onto the notion that Emmy’s first shoes would be sweet and girly. That’s when our Physical Therapist grabbed a scissor and started hacking away. She cut off the fronts of the shoes and then sewed on black straps, which were intended to hold Emmy’s foot tightly in place. She then glued padding to the inside.

Emmy wore those shoes for about a month, and I grimaced every time I saw them. I longed for the first pair that I picked out that were still sitting in her drawer, brand new.

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These are the shoes that Emmy wore after the frightful pair. She needed more support on the side of her foot, so we graduated to these white shoes. They say “My Baptism” on the side. I think most children wear their baptism shoes only once, but Emmy wore hers for months, which made people chuckle.

I had a woman stop me in a store, point to Emmy’s shoes, and say, “Oh, I remember when we all had to wear those ugly first walkers!”

What she probably didn’t realize is that nobody wears ugly first walkers anymore. Most baby shoes are blinged out. She didn’t realize that I didn’t have a choice in the matter, and there were very cute shoes sitting at home in a drawer, brand new.

The next step was to move Emmy into orthotics, which are braces that go inside shoes to help stabilize the foot. When this idea was first brought up to me, I thought, “NO WAY.” I pictured unsightly braces up to her knee. In fact, one of our therapists has a brother who wore clunky metal orthotics when he was younger.

But it isn’t about me. It’s about what’s best for Emmy. So we got her fitted for orthotics, which are much prettier and smaller than I imagined. You can barely tell that she’s wearing them, and she’s very comfortable in them.

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These are the first shoes Emmy wore with her orthotics. She loved to pull open the velcro strap on the top.

And, in the end, she didn’t care what her shoes looked like. She just liked walking around; getting into everything. Through all of the shoe changes, she didn’t blink once. She just wanted to get up and go.

She has no idea that I still look at those first pair of shoes and feel a pang of regret, a pang that she didn’t get to experience her first years as typical children do. Or maybe it’s my own experience I’m thinking about–the regret that I didn’t get to put those cute shoes on my baby when I really, really, wanted to.

Sometimes things turn out differently than we planned. I’m a VERY (read: obsessively) good planner, so that’s been a challenge. But what hasn’t been a challenge is looking over at Emmy’s bright, smiling face and knowing that we’re doing what’s best for her. Right now, she doesn’t need cute shoes. She needs support.

As Long As It’s Healthy

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AsLongAsItsHealthy

I was at the salon the other day, making casual conversation with the hair stylist. She was asking how many kids I have and if I want another. I don’t normally venture into the Emmy story unless I know someone pretty well so I said, in a general way, “I have two kids, and I’d love to have another.”

She responded, “Do you want a boy or a girl? Though, I guess it doesn’t matter, right? As long as it’s healthy.”

That phrase stopped me in my tracks. She kept asking more questions, but I was still on the “as long as it’s healthy” statement, turning it over and over in my mind.

I used to think the same thing. When I was pregnant with both of my girls, I prayed every single night for a healthy baby. That was, in fact, my only wish. I was terrified of having a baby that wasn’t healthy.

And then, five weeks after giving birth to Emmy, we found out that she has Williams syndrome. (They don’t test for Williams syndrome during general pregnancy screenings because it is so rare.) In my mind, my worst nightmare had come true. I wondered what I had done in life to deserve such a thing. I had been a good person, right? It felt like a punishment. I racked my brain trying to figure out what I had done in my past to bring this diagnosis upon my entire family.

Those feelings were so real back then–so painful. And today, I can’t even put myself into that same mindset if I tried. I love this kid so much, and she has brought such incredible joy to my life. The way she crinkles her nose, and gulps down her milk (“glug glug glug”), and reaches for her favorite book, and gets her red shoes when she wants to go outside, and drops her toys into an empty bathtub for us to find later, and giddily throws balls to our dog, and says “Charlotte.” Even though I didn’t realize it at the time, this was the baby that I prayed for.

Really, I can’t imagine that any pregnant woman wishes for an unhealthy baby. So it seems like a natural prayer. Who wouldn’t want a healthy baby?

But let’s look at the other side of that coin. What happens if the baby is unhealthy? Then what? Do we send it back? Do we ask for another? The “as long as it’s healthy” statement doesn’t allow for the other side of that coin.

Because what if it isn’t healthy?

Perhaps, instead of praying for a healthy baby, I should’ve asked “Please give me an open heart to love my child fully, no matter who he/she is” or “Please give me the ability to see how my child fits in perfectly with our family.”

Yes, I’d like to have another baby. At this point, I’m actually much more worried about carrying the baby than I am about who the baby will be.

I, too, was born with a birth defect but, surprisingly, I didn’t find out until I was thirty years old and pregnant for the first time. An ultrasound revealed that I have a bicornuate uterus, which means it’s heart shaped. It sounds lovely, but it can be very problematic. I also have a secondary issue with my uterus which resulted from my first c-section.

So my mind hasn’t even gone down the “I hope it’s healthy” road yet. I’m still wondering if my own body will be able to hold strong.

But if I were to get pregnant again, I hope I won’t obsess about the health of my baby for nine months, as I’ve done twice before.

I’ve learned that health isn’t everything. It’s the whole picture that matters more.

Our Emmy turns two years old tomorrow! I can’t wait to see her opening the mountain of Elmo presents.

I spoiled her this year. She deserves it.