Building a Boy

The doctor said, "There appears to be something wrong with your baby from the head down." I had never imagined I would give birth to a child with so many extreme needs. Professionals told me to place my son in an institution and walk away. I refused... I could not. Instead, I took our baby boy home and began a long journey of self-education, trial and error, advocacy, frustration, tears and ultimately - unspeakable joy. No one ever gave me the "right" answers for teaching my son the skills he needed to survive. His needs were far beyond what anyone had ever seen before. He was everyone's learning experience. I had to be creative and resourceful looking deep within myself for a strength that I never knew I had. I had to believe in miracles, whether big or small. It was the only way my son was going to survive.