I know what you are probably thinking. This will just be another rambling of how someone makes money and then realizes what is important and does something different about his life, like giving more money away. This is not that type of post. Trust me.
Let me start off by saying that this past month of my life has been the hardest ever of my life. I thought with my past experiences with my health, I could be ready to take on anything really. And if I wasn’t strong mentally, I doubt I would still be sane. But I am sane still, even though it has probably pushed me to my limits.
My daughter is 3 and is autistic. In addition, she has a seizure disorder and is also considered ADHD. She goes to school pretty much full-time, which is something that she craves. She goes to a special autism-only school in the morning for 3 hours and then attends a disabled children program in the afternoon for 3 hours. She also has a behavior specialist that comes to the house 4 hours a week and an occupational therapist for another hour a week.
We have seen a huge improvement in her in the past year, and huge is almost an understatement. She is doing amazing and is very advanced in learning, but her speaking ability is that of about a 15 month old. However, she can match hundreds of words to pictures, so she is just missing a little part really.
With a child like ours, routine is critical in keeping them happy and flourishing. Last year, Christmas season was bad because of the schedule, but we got her back on track. This year has been hell. Between Christmas and getting tons of snow here in southern PA, her routine is shot to say the least. And mentally, this has throw her off in a way that I would never imagine.
Our daughter is a sweet little princess of course, but she has gotten violent. She gets in a mood where nothing will calm her down and she can’t calm herself down, which is a part of autism. She has left bruises and scratches all over myself and my wife during this time and she is also violent to herself.
Neurology consults are hard to get in a hurry, so we have been waiting for about 5 weeks to get to see the doctor again to help us out. We have been to the ER twice because of her fits and we have finally gotten something to help calm her down. It has helped, but she still has fits, but now it is more behavioral then mental. But it still is tough to say the least.
Going through screaming and violent fits each day that last for hours at a time for the past month has put a strain on myself and my business. Work is hard to do and concentrate on when you know your daughter could act out at any minute. I am tired constantly and mentally, it just drains you beyond belief.
So what have I learned from this experience? A ton. I realized how strong that I am mentally and physically. I thought I was already pretty strong, surviving blood clots, the ICU and multiple surgeries, all on different occasions. But that was nothing compared to having to take care of someone else in a bad situation. And would I trade my daughter for anyone else? Hell no! I love my daughter no matter what, and even when she is kicking and screaming at me, I can still kiss her at the same time.
Also, I know that my marriage is even stronger then ever. My wife and I have been through a lot as a young couple, and the fact that we survived what we have is a testament to our marriage. But having a disabled child and going through this has just made us bond together and work together to find solutions that will help out our daughter. And I love her to death, so, I could never leave her.
Finally, I see how strong my wife is. My wife is pregnant and still wants to help out, no matter how much I object due to her possibly getting hurt. She fights and fights and is always there right by my side, no matter what, even though she is tired.
So, in conclusion, life is tough. Even when you think you may be tough and can handle anything, something bigger might come along and kick your ass. What you do about getting your ass kicked is how you really are as a person. This will translate into all parts of life. I have learned to never give up and always look for a solution, which of course is used throughout life. What have you learned by keeping things in perspective?
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