I didn’t find out that I would be living in the world of Special Needs until soon after my third child, Carter Jay, was born. To say I was shocked would be an understatement. I had zero knowledge about raising a child with Special Needs, and in the beginning I felt somewhat alone. I scoured the web looking for information on what to expect, or what to do when you have a baby with special needs. I found that there were many, MANY sites out there that made our situation seem pretty grim.
I’ll admit that it took awhile to mourn the baby that I thought I would be having, and to accept Carter completely for who he was. Emily Perl Kingsley had it spot on when she wrote that it was like getting on a plane for one place, and landing in another. Once I accepted that this was where we were, I learned to absolutely love having a Special Needs child, and the new perspective on the world that he brought. I learned that no matter what the doctors, or therapists told me, there was always, ALWAYS hope. His life was not something that should have been pitied for his challenges, but rather a life to be celebrated. There was a whole new world out there that was just waiting for me to discover it…to embrace it.
As my journey continued, I found several blogs that were written by moms of Special Needs children. Each of these ladies would write about having hope, about enjoying their children no matter what the challenges, and about loving the world of Special Needs. I found myself in their same shoes. Of course, it isn’t all sunshine and roses, but the good stuff is really good. Unfortunately, our journey in the Special Needs world came to an end after only 14 months. Our son, Carter, passed away due to complications after surgery. Since the day he left, I have felt a pull to do something to show others how wonderful the world of Special Needs can be, and that idea led us to start Carter’s Hope.
This site was started as a way to welcome new parents to the world of Special Needs, and offer support. We hope to show that you can learn to love this new and different world, and that there is always, ALWAYS hope.
