Thoughts of a Mom

Many of you I have never even met face to face, but I've searched you out every day.
I've looked for you on the Internet, on playgrounds and even in the grocery stores.
I've become an expert at identifying you.
You are well worn.
You are stronger than you ever wanted to be.
Your words ring experience, experience you culled with your very heart and soul.
You are compassionate beyond the expectations of this world.
You are my "sisters".
Yes, you and I, my friends, are sisters in a sorority.
A very elite sorority.
We are special.
Just like any other sorority, we were chosen to be members.
Some of us were invited to join immediately, some not for months or even years.
Some of us even tried to refuse membership, but to no avail.
We were initiated in neurologist's offices and NICU units, in obstetrician's offices, in emergency rooms, and during ultrasounds.
We were initiated with somber telephone calls, consultations, evaluations, blood tests, x-rays, MRI films, and heart surgeries.
All of us have one thing in common.
One day things were fine.
We were pregnant, or we had just given birth, or we were nursing our newborns, or we were playing with our toddler.
Yes, one minute everything was fine.
Then, whether it happened in an instant, as it often does, or over the course of a few weeks or months, our entire lives changed.
Something wasn't quite right.
Then we found ourselves mothers of children with special needs.
We are united, we sisters, regardless of the diversity of our children's special needs.
Some of our children undergo chemotherapy.
Some need respirators and ventilators.
Some are unable to talk, some are unable to walk.
Some eat through feeding tubes.
Some live in a different world.
We do not discriminate against those mothers whose children's needs are not as "special" as our child's.
We have mutual respect and empathy for all the women who walk in our shoes.
We are knowledgeable.
We have educated ourselves with whatever materials we could find.
We know "the" specialists in the field.
We know "the" neurologists, "the" hospitals, "the" wonder drugs, "the" treatments.
We know "the" tests that need to be done, we know "the" degenerative and progressive diseases and we hold our breath while our children are tested for them.
Without formal education, we could become board certified in neurology, endocrinology, and physiatry.
We have taken on our insurance companies and school boards to get what our children need to survive and to flourish.

* Author Unknown