My Daughter's Journey

In my Introduction I spoke about my experience with children and also that my son was diagnosed with Diabetes at a young age, in fact he was a year and five months when we found out about his condition. Having a toddler newly diagnosed and administering shots turned my life upside down. The years to follow were very hard as a new mom while trying to educate my son about his decease. I will be blogging on what it was like to raise a diabetic child when information and technology were limited.

In this blog, I would like to tell you a little about my daughter. She was a very good student in elementary school, always on honor roll and gave 100%. In class she was always quiet, shy and kept to only having a few close friends. During these years I went through a divorce which was very hard on my daughter. 

In middle school she was a cheerleader, rarely missed school and loved to go to dances. The pressure from 50% custody got the better of her. She had to get use to her dad's blended family and try to fit in. She found herself relying on her girlfriends for support.

Starting high school was an adjustment but she still kept good grades. By the end of her freshman year she found herself missing school from the pressure of classroom tests and the abundance of homework. In her sophomore year she was struggling in high school. She still managed to carry A's and B's but started to develop test anxiety. Something she had not experienced before. Two weeks before the end of her sophomore year, she passed her finals but not the district's essential skills testing. These are tests that only our school district requires in order to complete and pass classes. No other school district in the surrounding areas required these additional tests. After meeting with her counselor, vice principle and finally the principle of the high school, the decision was made by the principle that she couldn't continue attending and would have to leave the high school. Hard to believe a student with A's and B's would be removed from the high school. This started her journey of attending two different schools before finding an independent study school she would feel comfortable attending.

Her life went from a perfect student that attended dances, sporting events and outings with her girlfriends to a girl that wouldn't leave the house to go outside or spend any time with any of her friends. She became introverted, feeling like a failure and so she secluded herself in her bedroom. 

These chain of events would change her life forever, suffering severe anxiety and panic attacks that would eventually lead to depression.

In my next blog, I will tell about her journey that lead to some of her darkest days and for me being her mother, scared for her life.

Please comment if you or someone you know suffers from anxiety. It is an illness that's hard to understand unless you walk in that persons shoes.

Introduction

I have a soft spot in my heart for kids with disabilities. My first experience was raising my very young son with diabetes. At the time, there wasn’t internet and information was scarce. It was hard to connect with other moms in the same situation. I felt alone, helpless and scared raising my one and a half year old son with diabetes.  This took me on a journey in search of answers and an experience no parent should have to go through. I became strong, passionate and learned the power of a mother’s love.

I hope this creates a community for parents that have children with special needs and/or difficulties. I’ll post information with tips I’ve learned over the years. Along with ideas that can help parents better understand what their children are going through.