Count your blessings...

I am having a terrible writer's block today. It is already very late in the evening and I still can't seem to come up with material I want to share. As I looked frantically for any worthy piece on my harddrive, I came across this beautiful picture and prayer that I had saved so many moons ago. I must admit, it brought me a sense of peace. It reminded me so much of what my sister told me over a phone call that we had this morning. She said: "Sis, things may be tough for you and Alex but you must count your blessings. You must be thankful and acccept the cards that were dealt you in order to prosper and achieve additional blessings." I've been thinking about that all day today and decided to share it in this post with this prayer.
Lord, help me to turn to you when my
troubles seem too big to face alone and even
when they don't.
Help me to trust you with all of my cares.
I love you Lord.
Amen.




©Copyright 2007.Najwa S. Hirn. All rights reserved.

Celebrating Friendships..

One of the most important gifts that Alex has brought into my life are the special people that I met through her. Most of those people have become dear friends for life. Without her unintentional intervention, I may not have met these friends. Throughout these past nine years I have stopped looking at nurses, therapists or caregivers as just professionals providing a service for my daughter but rather as humans entering our lives and many becoming an integral part of our existence. Friendship is a unique gift that I cherish. My friends are my support system. I count on them and they are always there. Today, Alex and I celebrated two such friends with a wonderful lunch, cake and our weekly library visit. I salute you my friends and am blessed to have you in our lives….

©Copyright 2007.Najwa S. Hirn. All rights reserved.

Calling it Quits...

When Alex came home from the NICU 8 years ago, she used to have a terrible time falling asleep in the evening. I would have to cradle her, and rock her while I paced our home for hours on end until she was able to transition from her day and surrender unto the slumber of sleep. After years of therapy, some conventional and others alternative, and more growth combined with a whole lot of love, she seemed to get better. She would climb into bed and, as long as I was with her cradling her, she would start sucking her thumb and drift away. I had actually forgotten these difficulties until last night when she had that same incident occur. She was inconsolable and could not get calm enough to go to sleep. Being older, and heavier, I just couldn’t rock her like I used to. I found it rather frustrating, as a mom to just stand on the sideline unable to fix whatever was bothering my child. I had to just watch her run from one end of the room to the next until she finally called it quits and settled down hours later. Moms are supposed to make it all better, but when those times come that are beyond my control, I have to learn that there is only so much I can do. I have to leave the rest to sort itself out…

©Copyright 2007.Najwa S. Hirn. All rights reserved.

Lessons Learned....

I’ve always been what can be termed as a "TRIPLE A" personality. I don’t beat around the bush and like to get things done earlier rather than later. If I have to be somewhere, I would arrive at least 10 minutes early. Things have to be done just the right way to satisfy my desire for perfection. I make sure that my I’s are dotted and my T’s are crossed just so.. You probably get the picture…
With this in mind, I find myself having to slow down when it comes to Alex. It is her schedule and not mine that rules. Her medical status doesn’t allow for things to be rushed. I’m having to learn to let go of some things as they are taken out of my control.
She continues to have difficulties in the mornings when she wakes up. It has become fruitless for me to rush her into the morning routine in order to get her to school on time. I realize that this destructive rush will only have a domino effect which can turn the entire day into a disaster. As you have guessed by now, we’ve had this kind of morning today. Her tummy is hurting due to an on going constipation problem. This opens up the door for vomiting and severe mucus accumulation. She is staying home today until this situation is resolved. I come to accept that my to-do-list for today is just going to have to wait until tomorrow…

©Copyright 2007.Najwa S. Hirn. All rights reserved.

Recipe....

As part of Alex’s therapy, we have been trying desperately to have teach her to play with, and enjoy “Play Dough”. The goal is to desensitize her to the texture as well as to show her how creative she can get with this mixture. Due to her various sensitivities, and the fact that she still mouths objects for stimulation reasons, I was concerned about having her use “Play Dough” due to the chemicals that may be involved in the mixture. A friend of mine passed on this recipe for making Play Dough using natural ingredients (Thank you S). Your child may help assist in making it and thus it will be extra special to him or her.
Caution: Many children with special needs have swallowing problem so please be careful and make sure your child does not swallow pieces that can choke or harm in anyway.
Enjoy this posting..

PLAY DOUGH RECIPE

1 cup flour
½ cup salt
2 teaspoon cream of Tartar
1 cup water
1 Tablespoon cooling oil
Food coloring

Put all the ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture forms a ball and pulls away from the pan. Knead on a flour-covered surface until cool. Store in an airtight container.

Sharing...

Every once in a while a forwarded email touches our hearts. The one I am about to share with you today has definitely touched mine and many others. It was forwarded to me over four years ago. I have not had the heart to delete it from my in-box all this time. It sure survived the various storms, viruses and computer mishaps that my system has undergone these past few years. Even though it is written for a daughter's birth, it can sure reflects a son's just the same.

With this in mind, I present it to all you special moms, dads and kids out there.. Enjoy it…

Heaven's Special Child
A meeting was held quite far from earth.
"It's time again for a special birth,"
Said the Angels to the Lord above.

"This special child will need much love.
her progress may seem very slow,
Accomplishments she may not show,

And she'll require extra care,
From the folks she meets way down there.
She may not run or laugh or play;
Her thoughts may seem quite far away.

In many ways, she won't adapt,
And she may be termed as handicapped.
So let's be careful where she's sent,
We want her life to be content.

Please, Lord find parents who
Will do a special job for you.
They will not realize right away
The leading role they're asked to play,

But with this child sent from above
Comes stronger faith and richer love.
And soon they'll know the privilege given,

In caring for this gift from HEAVEN.

Their precious charge, so meak and mild
Is HEAVEN"S very special child.

by Edna Massionilla

December 1981

The Optomist-

newsletter for PROUDParents

Regional Outreach for Understanding Down's Inc.

http://www.our-kids.org/Archives/Heavens_special_child.html

Reminiscencing…

As I watched Alexandra giggling and rolling on the couch with her legs and arms flying in all kinds of directions in the air this afternoon, I couldn’t help but remember my first image of her as she came out of the womb 9 years ago.

Even though she was born at 25 ½ weeks gestation, she was feisty, all 8 inches of her. Her entire body was so small that it was practically covered by the nurse’s palm that held her. You see, my Alex weighed only 12 ounces at birth and measured 8 inches in length. The only visible active portion of her that I could see were those arms and legs flying in all kinds of directions. She was probably doing her own victory dance at that time celebrating being out of the suffocating environment that she was confined in. I had developed preeclampsia in my fifth month of pregnancy so the womb that was supposed to sustain her was actually chocking her as my amniotic water kept depleting.

That day back in 1998 was a difficult day and a start of a long hard road for Alex and us. However, I couldn’t help but count our blessings today as I saw her laughing after being tickled as she actively listened and danced to her dad’s blue’s video. I thanked the Lord for his many mercies..

©Copyright 2007.Najwa S. Hirn. All rights reserved.