#CPstrong – Our Special Kind of Life

Be Strong: Stay Positive

Posted on March 22, 2020March 23, 2020 by Meghan Garcia

Going on day 11 of being completely quarantined. The kids and myself have only left our house to go on a walk or play in our backyard, Rick has only left to go to the store twice to get essentials. There have been many times throughout the past few days that I, myself, have felt like breaking down and I know my kids have been feeling the stress as well. Unfortunately, there is so much that is out of our control besides doing our part and be committed to social distancing. One thing that I will be better at and do my best to promote, especially in my house, is positivity.

I have been thinking a lot over the past 11 days, especially since I have had extra time with no sports or extracurricular activities to part take in. Here are some positives that I have identified and would like to point out :

We, as a family, are spending some much needed quality, uninterrupted, time together.
My family has been eating a home cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner every day.
We are spending less money on non-essentials or outside activities, which will impact our savings in a positive way.
My children have been the most creative I have seen them in a long while; creating videos, playing new games and creating beautiful artwork for me to display all throughout the house.
Rick has been able to focus and practice baseball and basketball one on one with Ricky Bear. Normally, he has to teach and coach about 10 other boys so it is nice to see him play with just Ricky (and Grace too).
We are all able to have more time to learn sign language as a family.
While it has been an adjustment for Rick and I to both work from home, I am grateful that we both have jobs and that they are able to be done remotely.
I am also grateful to have this extra time with Rick, having him home more has been a blessing and I know the kids enjoy spending more time with him too.
My house has never been cleaner!
Getting a bunch of house projects done.
I am saving on laundry, since we are mostly wearing pajamas all day😬
We have a roof over our heads and my pantry and cabinets are stocked with all that we need to survive.
I have amazing friends who have continued to be there for each other through all of this – NONE OF US are in this alone.
Most importantly, my family is safe and healthy and staying free of illness.

Yes there are a lot of negatives that we can all dwell on, but right now I am choosing to focus on the positives. Hope you all can too!

Since March is still CP Awareness month and I am very dedicated to sharing as much as I can about the disability, I want try and tie back our current situation as best I can. Having CP has been described as feeling trapped in your body and not being able to do what you really want all of the time. Sounds a little familiar right? Difference is that we will overcome our current situation, unlike Olivia who will live her whole life with CP. Which is why we have to Be Strong and Stay Positive, always! Even with all that is going on in the world, Rick still thought of me and brought home my favorite flower, Orchids, during his last grocery outing 🥰

We can’t live in the past and wonder what could have been, what happened and who’s to blame. None of this will help or change Olivia’s disabilities, nor will it help end this Pandemic. However, we can do our best to work with Olivia and help her through therapy to overcome obstacles just as we can all do our best to work together to help stop the spread of this awful virus.

Even when I laid in the hospital bed not knowing whether the girls would make it or not, my family helped me stay positive. From that point on, I knew the only way to get through the tough times were to stay positive and focus on the future to keep moving forward. So that is what I am going to choose to do right now, even when it feels impossible and hard to think positive thoughts, that’s when I know I need them the most. I encourage everyone to think hard about all they are thankful for, and try to turn their negative energy into positive energy. Remember to stay strong for your family, and let’s make positivity be ‘contagious’!

CP Strong!

Posted on March 4, 2020March 4, 2020 by Meghan Garcia

For those who don’t know, March is Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month and it is a time to celebrate and educate! I know that it might sound weird to celebrate a disability right? But the reality is for those of us who live and breath the disability on daily basis, we see progress in our loved ones or ourselves and being able to educate others is definitely reason to celebrate.

Throughout the whole month of March, all of my posts will be about CP in one way or another. I hope by doing this I can spread awareness but also find ways to celebrate! So for today, I wanted to talk about how important it is to share and talk about different disabilities with your young children. The more we talk about them and educate our young children, the more accepting they will grow up to be as well as accommodating.

For example, yesterday while at my Gracie’s and Ricky’s softball/ baseball practices, a little girl who had been playing with Grace and her friends took notice of Olivia and started asking me questions. Mind you this is a very common thing that I have become used to. And I love it! I love that children ask me questions about her and they should. They usually ask me questions like, “why can’t she walk?”, or “can she talk?”, or “why can’t she hear?” or “why does she have that walker?”. All very valid and perfectly fine questions to ask me. I do my best to always sit down and explain in the most simplest way I can (depending on the age) to help answer their questions honestly.

There have been times that I actually had a parent come up and say, “Omg, I am so sorry!” and pull their child away. I get it, it’s more taboo right to ask up front what is wrong with someone? However, I find it as a learning opportunity and I highly encourage any parent of a non-disabled child to ask questions and let the parents or child explain. Because honestly, after I tell the children why she cannot hear or why she cannot walk, they sit and play with her. They engage her, and don’t treat her any different. Guess what happens next after that?! They meet another person in a wheel chair or with hearing aids and they don’t stare or make comments, they may go up and talk to them or they will do nothing because they understand and it’s not ‘strange’ or ‘different’ to them anymore.

One of my best friends here in Austin recently told me how blessed she was to have Olivia in her family’s life. She said not only did she love her but she loved how humbling her own children became after meeting Olivia. They protect her, talk to her, check in on her, help her and most importantly try to include her. I am so happy that Olivia was able to make such an impact in some kids lives, and I know that because of her they will grow up to respect those who may need a little extra help.

So please, please, please do not discourage your young children to ask questions about disabilities! It will greatly help all of us parents with disabled children as they grown up, to live in a less judgmental world. Well at least one can hope:)

A Diagnosis Will Not Define Us

Posted on January 30, 2020January 30, 2020 by Meghan Garcia

While I contemplated what my next post was going to be titled, I remembered something a doctor once told me. Something that has truly stuck with me and something that I now fully understand and work to live by. Back in Chicago, when Olivia was first ‘officially’ diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, I was sitting in a downtown hospital room waiting for the doctor to come in and tell me what I (we) already knew. She was the most gentle, kind and honest doctor I think I had ever met and she hopped up on the hospital bed next to me and Olivia and broke it down like this. She said, “I am sure you are already aware that Ms. Olivia has Cerebral Palsy. And I am also sure that you are worried about what that means.” I quietly shook my head and nodded, fighting really hard to hold back big crocodile tears that I did not want her to see. She continued to say, “Cerebral Palsy or CP as we like to call it is simply a diagnosis. It does not define Ms. Olivia and it certainly will not determine her future. A diagnosis will help her receive the support and services she will need to gain strength and surpass all goals you set for her.” I sat for a minute, fought off the tears and agreed to use this diagnosis just as that, a diagnosis and not a definition of who Olivia is or what she can and will do.

Rick unfortunately was not with me at this appointment as we needed him to work hard and ensure that our future was going to be ok with him having a good job. So on the way home I remember driving down Lake Shore Drive explaining to Rick that Olivia does have what we feared most, but that everything was going to be ok and that this will help us get her the help she so dearly needs. He probably thought I was nuts because I was so calm, but I felt like I had to be in order to get through to all the things I was going to need to do next – to keep track of all the therapies, the equipment, speciality doctors, medicine and so on.

So why am I bringing this up today? Well, many reasons but I think it is important for friends and family to understand me and where I am coming from better. Rick and I try our hardest to give our children the best lives possible, we want to give them every opportunity to live life to the fullest. Therefore, we try not to treat Olivia too much differently than Ricky Bear or Grace. She goes and does just about everything with us, from sporting events both little league and professional to dinner dates to vacations to movies to neighborhood parties and list goes on and on. Our family is very social and we love every second of it, however, it is definitely not easy for any of us by any means.

When we go places we need to think if it will be easily accessible for a walker, wheelchair or stroller (depending on what we bring that day). Then we have to make sure and bring all the necessary things with to keep Olivia entertained for hours on end, because unlike our other two children and pretty much every other child in the group, Olivia cannot just run around and play. If we go to a restaurant with a playscape or a neighborhood block party, it usually means she may need to entertain herself in the stroller or in a seat because it might not be safe for her to use her walker. This also means, that Rick and I will take turns holding Olivia which can get very tiring for all involved. Needless to say, we have many things to consider and think about than the average parent making plans to take the kids out. I am ok with that, and you should be too.

I am not complaining and by no means want any sympathy. Rather, I ask that our family and friends know that we want to be included in all activities and bring Olivia to as many as things as possible. That we are not trying to be difficult if we need to change plans or do something differently to better accommodate our family’s needs. We want to make sure that Olivia can enjoy as many of these activities too. Also, I will totally admit that sometimes I can seem frustrated or maybe not as social as others at some events. Try not to hold it against me, I am a mom to a special needs kid first and probably have a million things going on in my head that is distracting me;) But as the title of this post implies, we will not let a diagnosis define this family and hold us back. We promise to give Olivia every opportunity to just be a kid and enjoy life just like the rest of us.

Also, I should note that as I try and write this post after I have worked a full 8 hours and have dinner cooking on the stove, I am also chasing Olivia around the house because she somehow stole a pen without me seeing and is writing all over my walls! {insert hand over face emoji} Olivia certainly thinks of herself as a typical 5 yr old and is not letting her CP define her, therefore neither shall I.