Brian and I did some soul searching Fall 2022. We'd lost 5 babies in 4 pregnancies and had a profoundly disabled daughter. Yet still, our hearts didn't seem to be hardened, even after all we'd been through. We decided it was a sign we should keep going -- we'd handle whatever came our way, just like we always did. Instead, we waited. And waited. And waited.
Defying the odds
There's a common narrative I hear nearly every single day from kind hearted strangers or people we know. "She'll defy the odds, just you wait." The narrative, at the core, is the same. "Don't think negative, think positive!" I think the intent is to encourage us, to bring us out of a place of darkness and sorrow and re-direct us to some more light and happy place. Because, without realizing it, as a society we equate disability with sadness and darkness, but "normal development" with achievement and positivity.