2 Comments

  1. Vicki
    February 28, 2022 @ 10:33 am

    Made me cry again. My family is at that same age too.

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  2. SCOTT WILCOX
    February 28, 2022 @ 1:16 pm

    Wonderful, Carrie, as are all your weekly posts. At the end of that season, as you point out, you look back and reflect. If you had to do 85 percent of it alone because the spouse ran away from it all, I believe it to be more difficult, but more rewarding, too. I doubted many of the decisions I made along the way as input from the “professionals” was often at polar opposites, and I had to decide, alone, by gut and God’s guidance which path to take with my daughter ie: therapies, services and seizure medications. She is much lower functioning than your Jack, and it became obvious that she would need life-long care. Support came only from my parents, inclusive public school that really wasn’t, and a few service organizations and insurance, much of which required expensive co-pays or full payments early in her life (luckily I could work lots of double shifts and overtime to get some of the needed cash, but went into heavy debt along the way anyway). Laws have changed in California and services have increased as she now has good support. I was forced to move her into a group home over 3 years ago due to my own health issues. My care for her over the years caused extensive damage to my joints and back, to the point that I couldn’t keep her at home with me any longer. But through it all she is a smiling, laughing, although non-communicative, non-ambulatory, happy blossom in the field of wild flowers, with a great sense of humor and loves the 3 Stooges. Success! Scott, Dad to Heather, almost 37.

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