Tag: #gogreen4CP

Be Strong: Stay Positive

Posted on 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 :

  1. We, as a family, are spending some much needed quality, uninterrupted, time together.
  2. My family has been eating a home cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner every day.
  3. We are spending less money on non-essentials or outside activities, which will impact our savings in a positive way.
  4. 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.
  5. 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).
  6. We are all able to have more time to learn sign language as a family.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. My house has never been cleaner!
  10. Getting a bunch of house projects done.
  11. I am saving on laundry, since we are mostly wearing pajamas all day😬
  12. We have a roof over our heads and my pantry and cabinets are stocked with all that we need to survive.
  13. I have amazing friends who have continued to be there for each other through all of this – NONE OF US are in this alone.
  14. 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 🥰

Green is the color CP Awareness!

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’!

Remember Smiles are contagious too!
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CP Strong!

Posted on 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:)

Olivia’s Hot ‘Pink’ Wheels!

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