Open letter to all parents:

Dear Moms and Dads,

I want to talk about something uncomfortable.  It has come to my attention that many of the best among you are making a big mistake.  I understand.  I was too, two years ago.

My daughter has a rare genetic syndrome, called Apert syndrome.  When she was a baby, the plates in her skull fused together.  That meant that there was no room for her brain to grow, and she needed surgery right away to relieve pressure.  Her head is larger than average.  When she was born, her fingers and toes were fused together.  She has had the first surgery to separate her fingers, so now her thumb and pinkie are released.  She has a tracheotomy, so she cannot talk yet.  Because of various complications, she has spent a significant portion of her young life in the hospital.  She is developing muscles that she needs to sit up on her own and to walk.  She will do these things, but for now she is in an adaptive chair.  My beautiful girl stands out.

 I already have to teach my girls that some people are just mean and you cannot let it bother you.  I already have to teach my girls that loving people who are mean is part of what it means to be Christian.  I am trying to teach them that most people are good, and that is where you come in.

When I take my little girl out, we see all kinds of reactions, but the most natural, the most genuine, the most common, is the reaction we see from most kids.  They look.  Some are puzzled.  Some worried.  The most adventurous of them ask questions.  Almost all are curious.

-Beth

Read More at joyfulcatholicmom.blogspot.ca/2013/09/open-letter.html