***PLEASE VOTE DAILY UNTIL 12/8 AND SHARE ***
My daughter is 22 years old and graduating December 15th from North
Carolina State University, Summa Cum Laude. She lives in an off campus
apartment and belongs to a sorority. Her dad and I are very proud of her. Sounds
pretty typical for a college student, right?
What you don't know from my
description is that she has spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy and cannot
walk, talk, feed or dress herself, or even go to the bathroom by herself. She
uses a power wheelchair and augmentative communication device to speak. She has
personal care attendants to help her with her daily living activities.
When she
was born, I spent a lot of time asking myself, "why me?" When your
child is born with a disability you lose the dream of the child you were
expecting. Everyone thinks their child will grow up to be something special,
maybe a football player, cheerleader, or maybe even president. Suddenly, your
child's future is a big question mark. It's a dark and scary place to be.
I was
a manager for a fortune 500 company when my daughter was born and being a stay
at home mom was not something I had envisioned for myself. However, my daughter
was soon doing eight different therapy sessions a week and there wasn't really
time for me to work. I felt that if I worked hard enough on her, she would be
able to overcome her difficulties. Over time, the "why me," evolved
into "why NOT me?" as I realized that my daughter would have the
benefits of a financially secure college educated family with good health
insurance and the time to devote to advocating for her to receive everything
she needed.
My daughter was included in regular classrooms despite her physical
needs for additional supports. Thank goodness that computer technology was
expanding by leaps and bounds at this time and she could use it to level the
playing field for her scholastically. Every year was a transition and she had
to prove that she belonged in regular education and could do the work if given
the appropriate supports.
I also learned very early that the best way to heal
myself was to give back to my community. I have volunteered and raised money
for several disability related organizations geared towards helping families of
children with disabilities. I truly believe that my life's purpose is to
showcase kids like my daughter and help them achieve their highest potential,
whatever that may be. Luckily New Voices Foundation came along and has
graciously given me a platform to do so.
Over the past 10 years, New Voices has
provided hundreds of hours of training to those who work with kids like my
daughter so that they can be the very best at what they do. New Voices has also
provided hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment to our local schools
systems to help them meet the needs of these very complex children. New Voices
advocates for these children to ensure they get the resources they need. New
Voices is literally a voice for children who have none.
This is my giving
story. Please think of my daughter at 2:00 p.m. EST on December 15th when she
dons her cap and gown and rolls across the stage to accept her diploma. New
Voices is working to ensure that she is not just the exception but the norm for
kids like her.
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