Life as a Leach

In Their Words  is a series I created to give my children a voice.  Caleb loves to share about what it is like being the big brother to a child with special needs, and Abby shares her thoughts about life as a medically fragile child.  Everything here is written exactly as they told it to me.  This is their chance to be heard! So, here's my five year old daughter, describing her life in and out on hospitals...in her words. I have tons of surgeries on my ribs to help me be strong and big.  Dr. Campbell is fixing my ribs.  My ribs are so tiny they can't even get much stronger, but Dr. Campbell is helping.  I have trouble breathing sometimes.  And sometimes I throw up when I'm at the hostible (hospital). I don't like the medicines, because sometimes the purple one I don't really like. I've had a million surgeries! I don't like that we have to go to the hostible and have surgeries.  They hurt.  They hurt all of the time.  It's n...

Being a special needs parent is vastly different from being the child with special needs, or from being the big brother.   I am hoping to start a new series called In Their Words  that allows Caleb and Abby to share their own perspectives.  Abby is getting old enough now to share some of her frustrations and fears about her surgeries, and I think it is important for her to feel like she has a voice.  Caleb is often so reflective that I know he will have lots to share. Who knows, maybe In Their Words will make it to The Mighty! Today, Caleb is going to share what it is like being the big brother to a child with special needs.  This is written in his own words, with me as the typist.  :) Abby's big health concerns are her spine, her breathing, her hearing, and her seeing.  She has to have a lot of surgeries on her back and ribs.  She has special needs, which means you need special stuff to help you with sickness or special things that othe...