Faces of Spina Bifida: Meet Carter, Lewis, and Bryce!

Meet Carter

"The thing I wish I would have known before: Is how happy we would be. After hearing the diagnosis of SB, I was so worried that our family would never be happy again. We were just so sad and being happy seemed impossible. Wow, was I ever wrong - nothing could be further from the truth! Yes, we have our tough days, but we have a better appreciation of the little things and the small blessings of life do not go unnoticed. I'm so glad that God chose me to be Carter's mom. He has taught me so much about what's important. And seeing his smile and hearing his little giggles everyday make me very HAPPY! :-)"

Caringbridge:  Carter

Meet Lewis

"I wish I had known that life will still be normal! The things I worried about when I was pregnant- some of them will happen. But they don't take over our life, they're just a small part of it! SB is not the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning and it's not the last thing I think about before falling asleep. It's just a small part of our family's life and it makes me appreciate the rest of it so much more!"

Blog: Our Little Man

Meet Bryce

(6 years old)

"I just wish I had known how amazing my little boy would be. I wish I had not spent so time grieving about what I was not going to have than what I was going to have with him. He is the best thing that has ever happened to me and I cannot imagine my life without him."

And that's it folks!  The final day of "Faces of Spina Bifida".  I hope all of you enjoyed meeting these wonderful  kids and reading about the impact they have had on their families.  Hearing about what a blessing these kids are is so important to those parents out there that have just received the SB diagnoses.  I would have given anything to stumble upon a blog like mine and all the other blogs out there when I was pregnant and terrified, so I could see that these kids are just kids.  They look like kids.  They play like kids.  They smile.  They laugh.  They bring incredible joy.  What a blessing.  I have enjoyed doing this so much!  Maybe next year I'll ask all the dads out there to contribute something, it might be nice to get their perspective too!

I think I featured everyone that contacted me, I tried to stay organized but it is certainly possible that I left someone out.  I apologize if you contacted me and I did not feature your child.  

It occurred to me that I never featured Caleb, but I figure if you have followed this blog for any amount of time then you already know Caleb.  But if you haven't had a chance to read his story, then I encourage you to do so.  I guess I should answer my own question: 

 "What do I know now, that I wish I had known then?"

I wish I had known how beautiful he would be.  I wish I had known how much he would change me and my heart.  My purpose in life is different because of Caleb.  I am involved in things and doing things that I would never have attempted if it weren't for him.  He brings out things in me that I had no idea were there.  I wish I had known what a sweet heart he would have and how preciously sensitive he would be.  I wish I had known that he would have the best belly laugh ever!  I wish I had known that he would be a kid, just a kid, doing kid things.  I wish I had known that the ability to walk doesn't define a person.  A wheelchair is a blessing not a curse.  I wish I would have seen that God was in control and that He would give me the strength and peace I needed. I wish I knew all that God would work in me and change in me because of Caleb.  The world is a better place because Caleb is in it and I am a better person because I was chosen to be his mom.