I Have a Special Needs Child but at the End of the Day, I’m Simply a Mom

When I discovered I was pregnant, I’d had no thought of having a special needs child. As first time parents, you can image our joy. We shared the exciting news with both sets of grandparents. I found an internet site to show how my child was growing week by week. Then the day came to discover if we were having a boy or a girl.

The day started with a child-like expectation and ended with disbelief. Though we discovered we were to have a son, this joy was dampened by the news our wee child’s growth was significantly behind. There was a problem. After a second opinion, we received another blow. Our child was not expected to live past birth.

Samuel’s First Two Weeks in NICU

The focus then turned to our son’s survival which began in earnest after his birth. Picture being in the Neo-Natal Intensive Care unit surrounded by hoses, wires, and machines. We received dire predictions of our son’s potentially early demise. But God had another plans for our son.

After six months, he came home from the hospital. And with lots of care, he started the journey of thriving year by year. And though we are having a different parenting experience and I know our son has challenges other children do not, I don’t see our son as special needs per se. He is just Samuel to us. Full of joy, smiles, and laughter.

Yes, I belong to a rare club of mother’s whose children face this diagnosis. But, I’d guess, they too see their children not as a diagnosis but through the lenses of motherly love which knows no bounds.

[bctt tweet=”And though we are having a different parenting experience, I don’t see our son as special needs per se.” username=”evy_mann”]

Jessy is new mom of a miracle. Her sweet boy Marlon is three months old. And though I wished we lived next door to each other, Jessy lives a half a world away in Germany. The pictures of her son resembles early photos of Samuel.

Jessy’s Miracle, Marlon My Miracle, Samuel

As Jessy faces this journey of being a special needs mother, I trust the love she has for her son outshines his diagnosis. She will discover her Momma bear gene, loving her miracle with a surprising fierceness. She will intuitively understand her sons needs and help others to see them as well.

Little Man, Marlon

Welcome to the club, Jessy. So glad we are on this journey together.

Do we face challenges raising these sweet blessings? Yes. We learn to do other things most parents don’t. We are adept at suctioning at a moments notice. We can change a trach equally fast. We listen to our children breathing. Yes, breathing. Determining from experience, we give a breathing treatment if needed. Our tool kit is different from other parents. But, what is the same is the overwhelming power of love for which we would do anything for our precious gifts.

So, yes, I give myself the title of special needs mom, but, at the end of the day, I am simply a mother.

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Evelyn Mann

Tinybeans Voices Contributor

I am a mom to a miracle boy born with a rare form of dwarfism. He wasn't expected to live past birth, but God had other plans and he defied all the odds. He is now a 11-year-old, full of joy little mann. www.miraclemann.com