Tag: parenting special needs children

WHAT HAPPENS?

Posted on by Jessica Ronne

I spent an intense morning with Luke at the eye doctor. Honestly, we’ve been frequenting doctor’s offices most days. Yesterday was PT for Ryan my husband, today, eye doctor for Luke, tomorrow and Friday PT for Ryan, Saturday, family doctor for a new wheelchair for Luke…

This is life for special needs families.

I made this appointment months ago – before Ryan had committed to his new surgery date in Feb – before when the original date was Jan 6 but then Luke was still in PICU & so we rearranged our schedules.

Today – 8:30 a.m. Feb 25, 2020. 5 days post op for Luke’s father who usually joins me on these exhausting excursions because it’s hard. But Ryan couldn’t join today with his arm in a brace, and I bribed my oldest daughter Mya to help. Bribed her with the promise of Starbucks. She agreed because that’s the kind of person she is. A lover of people and a lover of hot chocolate.

At 15 years old, Luke hates almost everything out of his ordinary – “GO TO SCHOOL!” was heard loud and clear – repeatedly- during our time spent in the serene waiting room added with the ants in his pants which resulted in a loud “GO WALK!” to the cacophony of chaos as mothers quickly shielded their children from his outstretched, unstable movements which threatened to grab or lick or stumble headfirst into their small toddler’s bosom.

What happens?

I asked myself – my blood pressure rising and heart palpitations quickening with each high pitched scream as Mya and I stared at each other with helpless looks as we tried to wrangle our big man child back into his stroller.

What happens when he becomes too big, and I can no longer physically restrain him?

What happens when he can’t go out in public because he might cause harm to another person?

What happens when my mental stability is hinging on instability?

What happens when his iPad isn’t interesting to him anymore?

What happens if he needs a diaper change and there’s nowhere to change him?

We were able to calm his anxious soul today quite by accident. The nurse played classical music from a contraption with green blinking lights (price tag probably $5000) to get an idea of vision capacity. He loved it and relaxed. I asked if we could keep playing the song on repeat for the remainder of the visit. She agreed & patted his knee “it’s ok buddy, it’ll be ok.” She was looking at me.

It’s okay is what happens. Mercy happens. Compassion happens. Occasionally someone really sees us – that’s what happens. Hot chocolate and strong coffee happens.

Moment by moment as we “just keep livin”

That’s what happens.

A Glimpse – I Choose Hard.

Posted on by Jessica Ronne

“You and Ryan seem so calm”

A phrase I often heard when Luke was in PICU for almost 4 weeks this past December and into January.  We probably appeared calm because we’ve experienced the worst case scenario. Someone died on our watch in 2010. We’ve waded through the depths of hell and survived; not only survived, but found immense joy on the other side of our grief but that’s not the only reason.

What most people can’t understand is how difficult normal Luke is at 15 years old. Baseline Luke is hard. The restlessness, constant high-pitched screams, puberty, incontinence, the inability to verbalize what he wants or even understand what he desires makes it exhausting to raise this unique individual, but we do it. We go through the motions and thank God for giving us a child who has taught us numerous lessons through his fragile life. But it’s still hard.

As Luke lay quietly sedated in PICU, I was given a glimpse, A glimpse much like Nicholas Cage experienced in the beloved movie, Family Man. A 25 day glimpse of a different life.  Not a life in ICU with beeping machines and lifesaving equipment; instead, a life at home; away from the beeping machines; a life I returned to after Ryan relieved me at the hospital; a life with the other kids. A life where I awoke to the rising of the sun and not to my 15 year old screaming over the baby monitor. A life where I had the freedom to run to the grocery store for milk and not worry about who would stay with Luke; a life where I didn’t have to constantly decipher what my non-verbal child wanted, and a life void of diapers and wheel chairs and walls smeared with food from wherever he ate his last meal.

An easier life. A life of peace or more peace than I was used to. A life of occasional silence. A life without Luke.

Struggle has a way of forcing beauty to the surface. The pink cactus, planted in a dry parched land – sinking its roots deeply into the brittle soil; willing its way to the surface – beyond the menacing thorns the bright pink petals unfold in majestic glory as the soul reaches for the sun.

The hard, holy treasures of life. Dull glittering nuggets that contain what really matters – unearthed through trauma and agonizing moans and breaths that can’t be released and heartache that brings a mama to her knees as she begs God to intervene and heal her son.

I wrestled with the Almighty for days as Luke lay in ICU. Weeping, moaning, begging – my thoughts scary, laced with guilt There’s peace, it’s quiet; my heart isn’t racing, I slept all night…

In the garden, beside the cords and tubes and beeping machines, sweat dripping from my brow, pleading –

Father, grant me the strength to endure the hard, screaming, physically, emotionally, and spiritually draining cup you have asked of me to drink.  Please spare my son. I choose him. I choose the difficult path you have called of me.  I choose life. Give me grace and strength to walk the road. Crucify every desire for prideful control. May I serve the least of these in your kingdom, and may I serve them joyfully.  Yet not my will, but yours be done. Luke 22

This is my road, my journey, and this is the way I must walk. I choose the narrow, parched path where only the pink petals bloom; the path lined with thorns and littered with dull and dirty nuggets – nuggets masking a priceless treasure beneath the smut and the grim and the walls smeared with food. I choose hard and holy.  I choose Luke again and again and again.

Just keep livin.

 

 

 

 

To the Medical Mama – I See You.

Posted on by Jessica Ronne

How many times have Ryan and I watched from a distance – mostly online – as a special needs family spent weeks or even months in the hospital with their child, and we said to each other – gosh, that’s gotta be hard. We had a limited understanding of how difficult an ordeal like that could be because Luke has been extremely healthy for many years – healthy until now – our 25th day spent in the hospital.

Now we know how hard it is; we know on a personal level. We’re aware that it involves trying to determine how a non verbal child is feeling or reacting to a particular treatment. It includes stiff muscles from sedation & sleeping on hospital cots & sleep deprivation from vital checks & rounds. It involves depleting the savings account because of days missed at work & stress related problems & nutritional deficiencies because our meal options primarily consist of Taco Bell or Pizza Hut. It’s depression & ptsd & loneliness & marital disconnect & siblings who misbehave because they need attention too and a house that hasn’t been cleaned in a month & rotting fruit & veggies because of absentee parents & piles of laundry & bills & vehicles that require servicing because of extra miles driving back and forth and back and forth, and exhaustion on a level where in your quietest moments you wonder if you might die.

My passion in life is to bring awareness to the struggles special needs families face. It’s why I started The Lucas Project – to bring public awareness to the problem and then provide a solution.

I couldn’t personally speak into the medical mom struggle before this journey because it wasn’t my story, but it is now, and I will lend my voice – honestly and vulnerably to the conversation in order to bring awareness to the silent warriors tucked away – rocking themselves into a disrupted sleep, penning updates for the masses; those hiding behind cords & beeping machines & very sick children.

I see you.

I see you
I see you.
I see you.

Solidarity & peace & love my friends ❤️