Month: July 2018

Posted on in caregiving, life, news, science

Caregiving with Mars

mars-7-21-2018-Dennis-Chabot-e1532244737900

(Image from EarthSky http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/why-is-mars-sometimes-bright-and-sometimes-faint )

At 2 AM Rhia calls me again. “Mom! I’m tangled in my blankets!”

Dragging myself out of bed, I groan and yell, “Coming!” Why do I yell? She can’t hear me, she’s deaf! This will be the fourth trip I’ve made to her room since 10 PM and I’m exhausted. I shouldn’t have made my bed so comfy because it makes it even harder to leave it.

Glancing to the window, I see a brilliant red spot in the sky, visible within the gap between my blinds and the window frame. What the …? I lower the blinds a little to see more of the sky. The red glow is huge and I think it must be a helicopter. No, it’s not moving. The orange light shimmers like a star and there are lines of clear light emanating outward, reminding me of how the Christmas star looks in movies.

“Mom!” my daughter yells again.

I dash to her room, disentangle her legs from the bed sheets, fluff her pillow, get her a drink of water, and kiss her forehead as she murmurs “Thank you” and then drifts to sleep.  When I return to my bedroom, the orange light is still there.

It must be a planet, I think. It’s orange, so could be Mars, but I’ve never seen Mars that bright! Jupiter? Then I remember the astronomy app on my phone. After the app loads, I point my phone to the sky and the program centers on that glowing orange star.

Mars.

Mars in her most glorious brilliance as she moves closer to the Earth. The app reports that Mars is making it’s closest approach to Earth in fifteen years and the viewing will be excellent. In fact, Mars will move even closer later in the month.

I stand in the darkness of my room and stare at gleaming, golden-orange Mars and smile. It is so beautiful. If Rhia hadn’t dragged me out of bed again I would have missed it. Not that I’m thrilled to lose more sleep, but I’m grateful she woke me up at this particular moment. Leaving the blind lowered, I crawl back into bed where I discover I can still see Mars from my pillow. I drift back to sleep with that beautiful image filling my dreams.

Good night…

Posted on in ASL, caregiving, deaf, disabilities, Disney, life, parenting, special needs, strength

The Day Rhia Declared She Can’t be a Princess Anymore.

I found Rhia crying in her room.

“Sweetie,” I said, taking her in my arms. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t be a princess anymore,” she said.

“Of course you’re a princess. Why do you think you’re not?”

“Because I can’t walk anymore and princesses don’t have ataxia! Have you ever seen a princess with ataxia? No!” She buried her face in my chest and cried harder.

I wanted to cry, too. Damnit, why does this have to be so hard for her? Why does she have to keep losing ground a little bit every day? If she has to be blind and deaf, why does she have to notice how all her friends are grown up and living there own lives while she gets weaker and has to stay home? What the hell do I say to her?

Rhia is passionate about Disney, especially the princesses. Cinderella is a personal friend and Rapunzel was at her recent birthday party. She wrote them all a letter and they wrote back. When we go to Disneyland, all she wants to do is talk to the princesses.

“They remember me!” she declares. And a few do. Over the years, we’ve met the same actresses who surprisingly remember Rhia out of the thousands of kids they see each day. There’s just something magical about Rhia, something that draws people to her. Plus, she has a gorgeous wheelchair with flower-print wheel rims. Rhia plays with her princess dolls every day and talks to them as if they are alive; her imaginary friends are her closest friends.

But on this day, those imaginary friends failed her.

“Listen to me,” I said, urging her to look up at me; she has to look at me to see me sign. “You are a princess now and always. Cinderella herself said you are a real princess and you have the certificate to prove it!”

“But that was before…”

“No. Once a princess, always a princess.”

“But I can’t walk any more.”

“So what? Cinderella didn’t say you were a princess because you can walk. She said you’re a princess because you’re kind and smart and funny. You care about people and are a good friend. You are helpful and creative. And you love to sing.”

Rhia had stopped crying and was listening, but still didn’t look convinced. “But I’ve never seen a princess with ataxia.”

“I know baby, and I’m sorry about that. I’m so sorry everything is really hard for you now. You are a princess because you are strong and try hard. All princesses are strong. You are a princess forever!” I hugged her tighter.

She sighed, turned away from me, and picked up her Ariel doll. I kissed her head and left her to think about what I had said. I overheard her ask her doll, “Do you think I’m a princess?”

I prayed somehow that doll said yes.