I placed Ava in Ella's wheelchair because I was fashioning some kind of a support for Ella and needed a "test-pilot".
She obliged.
The minute I placed her in the chair my mind took off to a place I haven't visited as of yet. Ella as a four-year old, a toddler...and eventually a kid.
She's growing up so fast. Her language is increasing at a impressive rate, she's breaking more teeth, she's interacting on different levels with us and her siblings. She's growing. Tonight she counted to eight!
Seeing Ava in that chair brought to my mind the future that we yet have to experience. What will that hold? How will we handle this? What might be the challenges that Ella will have to face? What will Ava and Henry be in response to all of this? The equipment, the doctor visits, the scoliosis, the atrophy, the self-realization that Ella will encounter regarding her SMA...all of this and more looms in the horizon.
Lindsay and I talk a lot about what we are doing to make the best life we can for Ella, Ava and Henry. We've just scratched the surface. Our task at this point is to get our environment set up properly to be able to take care of Ella in the best way possible. This is taking a lot of energy, planning, discussion, and effort. I'm so grateful I married the woman I did.
Hardship affects everyone differently. We each respond to stress in ways that are unique. Many times there are common places we all visit but invariably the experiences we each have had in our lives helps point us in the directions we end up traveling.
Lindsay brings to our life together a different set of experiences than I do and thus we have distinct ways of dealing with the stressors that constantly weigh us down. Sometimes the way we deal with things causes friction between us and other times it provides comfort and support for one another.
"For better or worse, in sickness and health, during good times and bad..."
One thing is for sure, seeing Ava in that chair brought forth some realities that I know we will have to accept into our life. Realities that may not be so comfortable; realities that will cause stress; realities that will require the best we have; realities that will tap into our life experiences...
On a summer day while having a picnic lunch just days after we received the official diagnosis Lindsay and I expressed how grateful we each felt for having each other...that held true then, holds true now, and will hold true tomorrow.
