Raising Awareness

November is Prematurity Awareness Month, Pulmonary Hypertension Awareness Month, American Diabetes Month, and National Adoption Awareness Month.

November 30, 2008

  • Would you save a life if you could?

    When Peyton was diagnosed with Leukemia, one question that we were asked repeatedly was, "She needs a bone marrow transplant, right?"
    I would have to explain that bone marrow transplant is a last ditch effort, that you don't do it unless nothing else works, you don't WANT to do bone marrow transplant.  There's nothing easy, simple or positive about it. (…)

November 24, 2008

  • Interesting news item about DS

    Down's births rise despite tests
    More Down Syndrome babies are being born [in the UK] than before pre-natal screening became widespread, figures show. (…)

November 23, 2008

November 20, 2008

  • Down Syndrome Barbie

    Does the idea make you think, “Whoopee, where can I buy one?” or, “Oh God, my worst nightmare has just been realised.”
    Before you go clamouring to write to the papers expressing your outrage, or to Mattel to place an order, I should just say Down Syndrome Barbie is not currently on the market. (…)

November 12, 2008

  • Am I Selfish?

    Again, in celebration of the 2008 National Adoption Awareness Month, the following is an article I wrote for Richmond Magazine. (…)

November 11, 2008

November 9, 2008

  • Walking with the Reidmillers!

    I love big families - I love Moms who are honest even if it might hurt - and I love the Reidmiller family! After reading this interview with Rachelle, I know you will also! (…)

November 5, 2008

  • Tell Me A Story

    November is National Adoption Month, and I would love to hear from your children!
    Do you have a child who was adopted and who would like to share their story? (…)

November 4, 2008

  • Sticks and stone and all that

    Recently I had the opportunity to spend time with an autistic child.
    Does that seem like a strange thing to say on a special needs blog? (…)

November 2, 2008

October 25, 2008

  • Blogs Can Change Lives

    I've known Janice and Susan from 5 Minutes For Mom for a bit now.
    Can I just say that I sincerely love these two?
    Cause I do.
    And not just because they are my bosses here at 5MFSN. (…)

October 24, 2008

  • The Things People Have Said…

    We've all had them. Thoughtless, insensitive and sometimes, the downright rude comment or question. (…)

  • Dyscalculia

    Raise your hand if you have heard of "dyscalculia." Not too many of you? Well, I hadn't heard of it either until 1993-94. (…)

October 23, 2008

  • Dads Can't Do Everything, Even Though We Try

    Just this weekend I loomed large over my petite baby daughter, holding her close, playing with her hand.  Tears rolled down my cheeks, not in a torrent, but rather a slow emotional drizzle which besets me from time to time.  “I can love you, I can hold you, I can play with you, but little girl, I can’t fix you.”
     
    Marissa is my daughter.  She was born by caesarian section on November 8 of 2007, a day after my Wife’s 37th birthday.  She’s our first.  She greeted us with a bit of unnecessary medical personnel drama, as the pediatrician saw me cooing at my daughter, caught a glimpse of her epicanthic folds and suggested we needed to have a Down’s screening.  Dad being white and not asian, there shouldn’t have been any reason for the folds, so she deemed caution was in order and ordered a fairly comprehensive genetic screen.  She hadn’t met the mother yet at that point which would have been a tip-off.  Mom is of Filipino descent. 
     
    We all had a good laugh about it, after the wife had healed completely.  Laughter was completely out of the question for a few days following our release from the hospital with the stamp of approval.   Good apgar scores, excellent appetite, digestive system functioning normally, all conditions go for hospital release.  The journey home was uneventful, all the normal new parent issues came in time.  Baths were had, sleep wasn’t.  Diapers were changed, and so were routines.  Thanksgiving arrived, and we had enough of a new normalcy established for me to make my brined Turkey Alton Brown Good Eats style.  Christmas came and went, with no family or pre-party disasters.  The cats loved the baby, the in-laws dog did too.  We didn’t make it to midnight on New Year’s, but we did catch it at 2AM for a feeding. 
     
    A new clock started on Valentine’s day.  I was sitting and rocking the baby for her noontime nap, watching Prince on Muppets Tonight.  Marissa made an odd motion, crunching her chin to her chest, bringing her arms forward so her fists were under her chin, and her legs up.  It all lasted only about a second, and she relaxed and was perfectly fine afterwards.  Puzzled, I watched her instead of the musical number on the screen for a minute.  She seemed peaceful enough, so I chalked it up to “baby things.” 
     
    Then she did it again.  And again.  Then ten more times. (…)

October 21, 2008

  • The Gift That Gives

    Children with disabilities are children first, and children with disabilities farther down the line. (…)

October 14, 2008

October 12, 2008

  • I beg to differ!

    **Updated to correct, it was actually Obama that said that "children are relatively inexpensive to insure." My apologies.
    I’m not going to turn this into a political post. (…)

  • Autism Family Adventures - An Interview with Bonnie

    Bonnie is one of the first Moms to blog about autism. Writing on several sites on the web, Bonnie shares her wisdom and a peek into her life as a single mother of two children with Autism. (…)

October 10, 2008

  • Here We Go

    Written by Guest Blogger, Jen from Unique But Not Alone http://alphagirls.blogspot.com
    Here We Go
    A bright blue sign that said Meteor graced us as we walked up the ramp toward the gate. (…)

Next Page »