October 6th is World Cerebral Palsy Day. In honour of this day, I had to share this and am doing so with Savannah’s permission. It’s my proudest parenting moment and I need to shout it to other families who think their children don’t understand or assume they will never learn.  Savannah was changing into her swimming costume and when she gets to a certain point, she calls me to help her to finish dressing. So she called and I went to find her not dressed but distraught. Her costume was entangled in the pedal of the wheelchair, and both were lying on her lap. In her efforts to free the cos ..read more

My husband Michael returned to the hospital this morning for another “small” procedure (he has long covid complications). I wish that I was not a frequent-hospital-patient’s-plus-one. Yet, when all is said and done, I’d rather it be me standing next to the bedside of my family, than anyone else. This procedure was meant to only be a day procedure. However, from experience, it was best to err on the side of caution, therefore Michael is staying overnight. This time of year, from spring until January next year, is what I refer to as our Maverick. Maverick is the giant wave professional surfers c ..read more

Like many people, I did not sign up to spend my days being a caregiver. I did not make allowances in my personal plans to be a caregiver. I did not even consider it when my daughter was diagnosed as a person with a disability. When my husband and I married, I said the words “in sickness and in health” believing that it was specifically for when we were in our old, old age. Life takes us by surprise and when we love someone, be it a child, a spouse, a parent, a sibling, or a friend; we become what they need. I fell into the role of being a family caregiver. Respectfully, there are many people w ..read more

The holidays are meant to be filled with joy, but they can also be stressful and challenging as many of us struggle with mental health. Looking after your wellbeing is more important than ever at Christmas time. But, with uncertainty looming thanks to Covid numbers rising, the extra stress of navigating family dynamics and worries about loneliness for some, you might be in need of some serious survival tips to get through the festive season. With this in mind, our Panda team have shared their invaluable tips on ways you can support your mental health this festive season. Six ways to support yo ..read more

Are you okay? I do not want this December to be like the last one. I do not want to talk about vitamins, vaccines, and the virus. I do not want to worry. Worry about the people I love, the people I know, everyone in my life. I do not want to pretend to be happy, and I do not want to live in sad. I do not want to make plans and have them turn to sand. I do not want to dig any deeper to find joy. I am not okay. I have been here before. I have had these feelings before. The reasons were different. I know I have been here before. I planned and packed for the holidays. In ways, my friends could ..read more

Last month my post Dream a new dream was about the challenges parents of children with disabilities face when it comes to their own mental health. On my radar was a new application to investigate: JoinPanda which aims to give everyone access to mental health support. I was very intrigued. JoinPanda is a uniquely designed app where everyone who has access to the internet can join the specific live interactive sessions for free which are led by experts or peers on specific topics impacting mental health today. There is so much more too. I like their bold mission: Everyone should have access to ..read more

The Christmas season is rolling around again and in less than a few weeks schools will close for the summer holidays, families will be finalising travel plans or everyone will finally agree that turkey does not have to be on the menu. Many families are looking forward to the festivities, and yet there is a marginalised group who love and hate this season. For parents of children with challenges, this time of year can be a stark reminder that they are parenting from the trenches. When the holiday season is not full of cheer, we learn to parent from the trenches When Savannah was in school, th ..read more

This post is dedicated to parents who put aside their dreams, have taken the knocks and wake up every day to pour faith, hope and love into the world. I see you. October marks Mental Health Day, Cerebral Palsy Day and Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) month (this is for people who use other ways of communication than talking because they have limited or no functional speech or are non-speaking). This month is also Down Syndrome Awareness, Breast Cancer Month and many more awareness days. The first three awareness topics are a big part of the fabric of my life. The dream I hoped ..read more

Last month we felled ten trees on our property. It broke my heart to do it. These trees were tall and beautiful and were one of the main reasons we bought our house. They were always there, from the day we first saw the house, providing shade and serving as a barrier of sorts between our neighbours and us. I could not imagine our garden without them. As beautiful and comforting as these giants were, they also had long wide roots and were lifting the pavement in parts of the garden. Two of the larger trees were eroding each other’s trunks. If a strong wind came our way, both trees were in dange ..read more

I am asking this question for myself and on behalf of other parents to children with a disability: Are all children a blessing or are only children with a disability a blessing? Often when people learn that I have a child with a disability they reply with “she must be a blessing”. Well, all children are a blessing. And, they contradict the above and confuse me when expecting a baby either by pregnancy or adoption and say: “as long as the baby is healthy and please God has no challenges”. Doesn’t everyone want a blessing? For years I have had to bear up against ignorance, unkindness and the vei ..read more