August 25, 2010

100th Post

Wow. Can you believe this is my ONE HUNDREDTH POST?! Who knew I would end up with so much to say??

When I wrote my First Post my goal was pretty simple. To share our story and hopefully reach out to other parents of children with limb differences.

The reason I wanted to do this was because when I was pregnant and we found out that Gavin's left arm didn't finish developing, we were devastated. We had never heard of anything like it. We didn't know anyone else who went through anything similar. I tried searching for information online but I didn't even know what to search for. We felt very alone. Part of me felt guilty, wondering if it was something I had done to cause this. All I could think of was my poor little baby, who would be born without a hand. I didn't know how he would be able to do simple things that we take for granted. My biggest fear was that everyone would stare at him and that other children would make fun of him. I just wanted to protect my baby from the rest of the world.

I posted our news in an online pregnancy community I was part of. And someone responded that she knew a child who was born without his right hand. I can't even explain the feeling I had when I connected with Patti and her son Tate. I looked through all of Tate's pictures. They were pictures of an absolutely adorable little boy, loving life and doing anything and everything you would expect of an active boy full of energy and enthusiasm. I poured over his pictures and began to realize that his arm was just a small part of who he was. His big smile and wild hair were a lot more eye-catching than the absence of his hand.

This was a huge turning point for me. And the purpose of this blog was hopefully to help someone else overcome the unknown and scary thought of having a child with a limb difference by showing that its really not as important as you think it is. Gavin has never let it hold him back from anything.

There have been a few times so far that other parents have found this blog and commented to thank me for writing it because they found it so helpful. Those comments have made everything worthwhile.

Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive of this little journey. I plan to continue writing as long as there are people to continue reading!

4 comments:

  1. awwww...i am SO GLAD we got connected, and so glad you've helped others by showing people how LUCKY we are to have these amazing kids!!

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  2. Little Gav is so lucky to have such an AWESOME mom. Great job Megan. xo Sully

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  3. My name is Khadijah and i just discovered your blog recently, first of all i want to say you have a beautiful little boy and thankyou for all the information you are sharing on you experiences raising a child with limb difference. I have a 9 week old son born with exactly the same limb difference as little Gavin and seeing your page and all the things you have acomplished together it makes me feel confident that my son will also find a way to do all the things his older sisters can do. i would love to get in contact with you plz direct me to where i can send a private msg.
    thanks

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  4. Hi Khadijah! You have no idea how happy your comment just made me :)
    You can email me at MEGAN_HL20@HOTMAIL.COM

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