Splendid Mayhem: A Sick Kid :(

Welcome To Holland

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......
When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."
"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."
But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.
But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

Monday, July 14, 2008

A Sick Kid :(

Parker is Sick. He's been feverish since Saturday, but mean old Momma took him to school today anyways (b/c I had to take the van to the Collision cntr and meet the plumber at the house). I got a call around 4 (I was on my way to get him anyway) that his temp was 103.9!!! So, we went straight to the Dr. He's got a virus, I don't remember the name of it. His throat is rather red, he's not been eating much guess that explains it. If he's not fever free by Thursday at the latest, then I'll take him back in for labs. It's always something.

5 comments:

KieraJuly 14, 2008 at 10:57 PM
The fevers are awful. Ike had one at 104.2 last week, so I know what you are going through. His lasted 2 days and then it was clear! Hopefully Parker's clears up soon also!
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AnonymousJuly 14, 2008 at 11:27 PM
Poor little guy!! Mia says give him lots of hugs for her ;)
Hope everything else is going ok!
Did ya get my text??? (I responded to yours :)
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Popcorn HouseJuly 15, 2008 at 8:35 AM
Hope he feels better soon! I will be thinking of you guys. Sick kids are so tough.
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BarbaraJuly 16, 2008 at 6:43 PM
Poor guy - I hope he starts feeling better soon. I hate fevers.
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DawnJuly 16, 2008 at 8:03 PM
Rough goings! Haven't you guys had enough yet?
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