Making Connections

It is hard to describe the feelings that rush through a parent upon finding out that their child is "special". There are no words that can quantify the feelings of loss and uncertainty when you are faced with the reality that you are going to parent a child with special needs.

The pain and worry would be something that only another mother could understand, but the grief and anguish is something that only another parent with a special needs child can relate to. Will we ever get to the point that we finally understand?

In my search for answers on the world wide web i stumbled upon You Tube videos of children with WHS. Seeing pictures and videos of these children gave me a sense of hope. I was able to picture what it might be like for my daughter in the years ahead (although no 2 WHS children will be the same... so we should not compare our children with them either). I also happened upon a blog site of another 4p-mother. I got connected with her and left a comment. She got me connected with these other WHS parents (Thanks Lauren!) and I browsed through their blogsites and felt validated that I was not alone in what I was going through. I realized that I should not be burdened by my own problems because we each have our own crosses to bear... everyone does.


For what seems like a long time, I felt like myself again. I found myself laughing that day and I felt this empty relief in my chest.

In my search for answers on the internet I found a network of people I can connect with, I found the my world and their world connect. Have I really stumbled upon the answers I was searching for? Perhaps not... we are all learning how to deal with our children day by day and as we go along.

I found a kinship with these people... and I find that that in itself feels like I stumbled upon a miracle.

Thank you to all you WHS parents who have been gracious and open about your experiences with your children!

Thank you also to Liz and J.... you were my first connection to the experience of parenting a child with special needs. Just the idea that you were steps ahead of me when it comes to accepting our realities encourages me that sunshines are just days ahead.