Dr. Mom
Dystonia Awareness Month: My Toddlers Life with Dystonia
The First Time I Saw Dystonia The first time I saw dystonia was when my daughter was less than an hour old. At the time, I didn’t know what it was. Her tiny legs were shaking uncontrollably and stiff. The nurses thought it was a seizure, but it wasn’t. It stopped—and nobody mentioned it again. […]
Living One Day at a Time: Special Needs Parenting without Plans
I have always been a planner—from when I was very small, an 11-year-old, to now as a mama of a toddler with a rare genetic condition. A planner who likes crossing every t and dotting every i. I like having a to-do list, a goal list, and even a next-year list. I always thought this […]
Being an Advocate in the Medical World: When Things Get Sensitive and Intense
Before becoming Paige’s mom, I never thought I’d have a discussion on whether or not to give a bolus of ketamine or morphine when Paige’s head turned ever so slightly. I never thought I’d be begging a doctor to let me breastfeed, or crying in the bathroom when a new order was made that prevented […]
Being an Advocate in the Medical World: Understanding Your Medical Team
Imagine the scenario of your child being taken in an ambulance, going to the Level One Trauma room, and being surrounded by men and women in different color scrubs, white coats, and them telling you what they think is best for your child. It’s overwhelming. Not only are you in shock, but you’re having to […]
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but expressed in a poem
Terror, Fear Adrenaline, Panic What word can describe The incomparable grit The flash of fear, The heart beat rush One minute happy, The next is a demon I can’t breathe, I can’t even gasp All at once, I feel it The feeling I never wanted to return I try and sleep, But the faces come […]