My mom has always been special to me, since the day I was brought home. Originally they were supposed to be my respite family, taking care of me while my birth parents tried to decide if they wanted to put me up for adoption. My mom told me that because they were told they already had a family picked out to adopt me, that she shouldn't get close to me because I'd be leaving. So my mom didn't put up the baby crib, instead I was supposed to sleep in a laundry basket. I guess I was just too cute though, because she said I ended up sleeping in bed with them.
When my birth parents decided that yes, putting me up for adoption was the option they wanted, I was supposed to go to the other family they had picked out to adopt me. However, that family soon found out just how sick I was but the adoption agency tried to convince them to still adopt me, in which that family still said no. My mom told me that she kept telling the adoption agency that she and my dad would gladly adopt me. "She's our little girl." Is what my mom told the agency and after convincing the agency, they were finally my legal parents.
From day one, my mom has fought and advocated for me; ultimately saving my life. She fought to adopt me into this wonderful family I have now. She never gave up hope when I was only given a 13% chance of living to the age of 5. She has fought with doctors who wanted to just let me die. She has fought with the insurance company to get me to see the doctors and specialist I need. She has even fought with me, to convince me to do the things I needed to do to keep myself alive. My mom is the reason I am alive today.
And during all that life saving, she still made time for her other twelve kids she and my dad had adopted. During all that she still managed to go grocery shopping, take me and my siblings to and from school, host birthday parties and found time to cook dinner. Being a mom, especially a mom to a child or multiple kids with chronic illness and/or disabilities is not an easy one at all. And yet my mom found the energy and compassion to adopt and take care of 7 kids who have been hospitalized with some form of congenital heart defect and on top of that one has diabetes and another discovered he had Lupus in high school. All in all she has taken care of 14 kids, and that doesn't include the kids she has hosted from foreign countries while they came here for open heart surgery nor does that take into count the grandchildren she has watched over and taken care of as well. Some how she managed to make it to every doctor appointment for every child, sit by each hospital bed for every child who has been in the hospital to comfort them and then make sure the healthy kids made it to school on time and had dinner when they came home.
Being a mom is a thankless job, and when asked what she wanted for her birthday she replied with, "For everyone to get along and for me not to have to cook dinner." For someone who has done so much for so many people without ever thinking about what was in it for her and barely getting a thank you for it as well, I think she deserves so much more than that not just on her birthday but every day.
Happy birthday mom, I love you so much and I want you to know; I appreciate you. And to all moms out there who have a child or multiple children who have special needs, thank you for having the compassion and love to take care of us. We really do appreciate it.
Hope and Love,
Becca
This is beautiful! Thank you for sharing. As another "heart mom", I can only hope my son grows to be as insightful and caring as you. Your mom is one lucky momma. =)
ReplyDeleteKatie