Over the last few years, I’ve watched countless friends, college classmates and colleagues navigate through the maze of medical care for their aging parents. Some were aware of their parents’ ailments and could respond to their needs with ease. Others were plunged into a complete fog as they had very little knowledge of the medical […]
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I love, love, love Christmas. When people say, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” it truly is for me. Back when I was a graduate student, I rented a room from a wonderful woman named Patsy who always made Christmas such an amazing experience. I’d sit on her sofa, happily watching her decorate the […]
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The Anticipation Running to the tree, being careful not to break the bright red ornaments, I grabbed the rectangular box. I knew what to expect. I anxiously ripped the green foil wrapping paper from the box to see which Bratz doll was inside. There she was – Yasmin in a crisp clear box – wearing […]
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Merle and I both grew up in a family with dynamic sibling relationships and desired the same for our girls. We grew concerned about this in the later part of my pregnancy as there were so many unanswered questions about Catherine’s abilities and we wanted both of them to have the experiences we shared with […]
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Lillian and I are planners by nature, so after we married we already knew we wanted at least two children. We thought having multiples would be fun and the siblings would benefit each other, so when our daughter, Christina, was seven, we got pregnant. Lillian’s appointments with her regular Ob/Gyn were perfectly normal and we […]
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For Aubrey Glencamp, Valentine’s Day 2016 was just a day like all the rest; until his wife, Stephanie, playfully swatted him on the chest, then asked, “What is this bump?” Aubrey hadn’t noticed the hard, little knot in his left pec and was immediately concerned so he called his doctor and made an appointment for […]
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The transition from the hospital to home is pivotal for a primary caregiver, especially when it’s your child, spouse or other loved one going home after a hospital stay. This was never more true for me at Catherine’s first discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit just 12 days after birth. Catherine was bundled in […]
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The past twelve months had been the hardest of my life as Merle and I watched Catherine struggle to survive. But our girl was a fighter and after a year of numerous hospital visits, countless doctor appointments, sleepless nights and fearful thoughts, we celebrated her first birthday. It was a triumph for our family. But […]
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Catherine had her first surgery when she was 5 ½ months old. Our cardiologist referred two surgeons to us and I remember how impressed Merle and I were with the first one. He put me at ease with his warm demeanor and I loved that he greeted Catherine, too. He was meticulous as he explained […]
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I’d just learned that my unborn daughter had both Down syndrome and a serious heart defect, but I refused to live with fear and worry. Instead, I channeled my emotions into action. I’m a planner by nature and I needed to make sure that my house was in order, that I knew everything that would […]
