Fatherhood and the special needs parent
Fatherhood for the special needs Dad When I first found out that Shelly was pregnant with Hannah I was over the moon. Up to that point we had done everything we were “supposed to’; we finished school, had good jobs with benefits,we bought a house, and got married, it was a textbook approach to buildingContinue reading “Fatherhood and the special needs parent”
Suck it up Buttercup
Personal Responsibility “I could never do what you’re doing!” This is another one of those sayings that we as special needs parents get constantly. It could be our friends, family, or just community that this phrase is uttered by, and to us it is like nails on a chalkboard. My wife has even gone soContinue reading “Suck it up Buttercup”
Your Ordinary, is Our Extraordinary
This time of year always is a bit melancholy for me as a special needs dad. We see graduations, school awards ceremonies, promotion celebrations, kids excited for summer vacation. And we as special needs parents find a seat in the corner, so to speak, as people carry on in their lives celebrating the achievements ofContinue reading “Your Ordinary, is Our Extraordinary”
The Doctor Is In
The Doctor is In…. One thing you can’t really prepare for in the life of a special needs parent is the sheer amount of education you receive. You will be surprised how much you retain, and how much you forget while providing care for your child. I spoke in previous blogs about how we liveContinue reading “The Doctor Is In”
A Lesson in Faith
“God never gives us more than we can handle”….Bullshit…. This is the most hated saying among special needs parents, at least those of us who are faith oriented. I myself have been a born and raised catholic all of my life. Through my experiences I can tell you, me and the big man in theContinue reading “A Lesson in Faith”
Is Anyone Home?
Websters definition of Isolation is: to be apart from, to be cut off from human beings and usual associates. What this definition lacks is that there are multiple levels and types of isolations. And many of these are experienced by families in the special needs community. There are physical isolations, emotional isolations, community isolations, andContinue reading “Is Anyone Home?”
Filling Your Cup
It only seemed fitting that my first non-biography based blog post would be about self-care for the caregiver. This Blog is a way I am taking care of myself. By putting my thoughts to paper maybe I am clearing my mind of some long overdue clutter that I’ve been holding onto, or maybe the clickingContinue reading “Filling Your Cup”
HoPE(ing) for the best. Preparing for the worst
As I shared in our introduction, that day we found out our daughter Hannah had some severe medical complications, our lives went upside down very quickly. All that information seemed like a blur. I remember we even went and got new iPhones after that appointment. I think part of it was to distract ourselves fromContinue reading “HoPE(ing) for the best. Preparing for the worst”
Faith, HoPE, and Love
We arrived at Winnie palmer shortly after the ambulance had arrived with Hannah. she had a team of neonatologists working over her. every doctor that was on hand was working her case feverishly. Hannah was having uncontrolled seizures, so they immediately started her on Ativan and phenobarbital. we started seeing a decrease in her seizures,Continue reading “Faith, HoPE, and Love”
The Start of Every Journey…
Introductions My name is Brian Cavins, I’m 36 years old and I live in Florida with my beautiful wife Shelly, and my daughter Hannah… That might seem like a pretty commonplace introduction, but I’ll add this caveat…I’m a special needs dad. what does that even mean? why do we say special needs? Why not disabled?Continue reading “The Start of Every Journey…”
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My Journey of HoPE 