Sometimes It’s Tough | Advocating For Others #A4Amonth

Prompt: Parenting isn’t all sunshine and ice cream – it’s hard. Write a post that delves into 3 challenges that you face as a parent.

Please note that I am participating in the WEGO Health Advocating For Others blog carnival. I chose to write about my daughter, Sammi who has multiple health problems, anxiety and depression.

When you are the mother of a child who is sick and hurts physically and mentally, it’s sad. No one expects their child to have to deal with these types of issues no matter their age. The sadness can be overwhelming at times. I think that it can be much worse. I count my blessings. I revel at all of the things she can do instead of focusing on her limitations (thank goodness, her limitations are so much less than they were just a few short months ago). There’s still that gnawing at my heart. Sometimes it crushes me. I work on it by seeing a therapist and by actively making changes in my thought patterns. Like everyone else, I have good days and bad days, but more good than bad.

Fighting with the public school system had become a huge part of my life. Determined to get the assistance Sammi needed, I was shocked to see the barriers that were set up to attain an equal education for her. Phone calls, meetings, reports to the school district, documenting it all made a dent, but it was still a battle. In the end, she is now being homeschooled virtually. I pray that her next year in high school will go much more smoothly.

There is such a fine line between believing my daughter’s complaints and being overprotective of her. I question myself too often if she is really “sick” or conning me. She is old enough to know how to play the sick card and I’ve fallen for it. Then there’s the opposite side of the coin where I didn’t believe her and she was truly sick or having symptoms of one of medical conditions. What a dilemma.

What challenges do you face with your child who has a medical condition, mental health problems or has special needs?

To learn more about this blog carnival and to join in visit http://bit.ly/A4Amonth.