They take care of him as Todd and I would take care of him, and that is a comfort that you cannot imagine.
Graham was born in 1997 after a healthy pregnancy. As most parents do, we counted his fingers and toes and were happy that everything went well and we brought him home with no problems. Soon after, Graham was having what we now know to be drop attacks, a type of seizure where the body seems to lose tone briefly and quickly. He was having upwards of 75 of these types of seizures a day.
Doctors eventually diagnosed Graham with Lennox-Gastault Seizure Disorder, where the patient has more than one type of seizure. He was also diagnosed with microencephaly, cognitive and physical developmental delays.
Graham does communicate and move in his own special way. Graham likes to bounce and crawl on the floor to get to where he wants; whether it be a toy, window, or our family pet. We have nicknamed him Tigger because of the bouncing.He has been a joy and has changed our lives in ways we would have never expected. My husband and I have been fortunate to have had each other to lean on, but there are not many people we trust or feel capable of leaving with Graham because of all his special needs and the toll it takes on them, especially our parents, who love to help but find they are not physically capable of the demands.This has led Todd and I to a “divide and conquer” lifestyle. If one of us has something to do, we will often switch off so we can get things accomplished. Grocery shopping, trips to Home Depot and small luxuries such as getting our hair cut have to be planned well in advance as we have to make sure Graham’s needs are covered off. Anything that takes more than a couple of hours to do has to be timed and planned around Graham’s schedule.
This is where The Darling Home for Kids comes in. Having a weekend to ourselves is a luxury that we do not take for granted. We know that when he is there, he has been well taken care of, people play with him and do things with him. They take care of him as Todd and I would take care of him, and that is a comfort that you cannot imagine. The Darling Home for Kids lets us recharge our batteries so we are ready to tackle another week and appreciate ourselves, our daughter and especially our son Graham.