Marc Mitnick

When our daughter, Jessie was born we were overjoyed. We were unaware of what was in store for my daughter and our family. Jessie was not meeting her age-related milestones...

Everyone has a bucket list. A bucket list is something you want to do or experience before you die. In 1989, Jessie had a bucket list also. When she was...

Jessie and her brother were born twins. It is important to realize that she was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) at six months of age. My son did not...

We quickly needed a village of professionals. Our daughter, Jessie, was born with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) back in 1974. We quickly realized that we needed to plan for a...

In 1974, my wife and myself were frightened when the Pediatric Neurologist diagnosed my daughter, Jessie, with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) when she was less than a year old. During...

I realized that we, as parents of a child with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), were trying to do everything possible to meet her needs. There were many choices in life...

My experience with anticipatory grief (AG) began when Jessie was about 3 months old. She was not meeting her developmental goals compared to her twin brother. Our pediatrician advised us...

We were going to have a baby! My wife Zelda, water had broken that night and off we went to the hospital as planned. So, my wife, my parents, and...

The back story: My daughter Jessie, had spinal muscular atrophy [SMA]. She was the first handicapped child to be mainstreamed in our local public school. In the 1970s, federal laws...

Zelda's water had broken that night and off we went to the hospital, as planned. So, my wife, my parents, and her mother crammed into my car, and off we...

It is 1974, and my wife was pregnant. We were not expecting twins However, we were blessed with twins. One of the twins, my daughter, Jessie was born with Spinal...

My daughter, who had spinal muscular atrophy, was mainstreamed in a regular classroom throughout her school years. We lived in a semi-affluent area. All her classmates were able-bodied. Her fellow...

Living within the dash, 1974-1991. My wife and I lived 'within the dash,' holding a ticking time bomb. During this time my daughter lived her life battling spinal muscular atrophy...

I am a speech pathologist. My daughter had spinal muscular atrophy. One of my daughter’s needs was speech therapy services. Since I was too close to this situation, I chose...

Our daughter was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) at six months old. The doctor told my wife and me that our daughter would need early intervention training, including therapy...

In the 1980s, my daughter who had spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) was growing bigger and taller. We noticed that she was having difficulty sitting upright by herself in her wheelchair...

Back in the 1970s, we found out that our daughter, Jessie, had spinal muscular atrophy [SMA]. A respected doctor told us that we should “put her away” because she was...

One night, many years ago, before dinnertime, I was sitting at my kitchen table by myself and thinking about Jessie, who had SMA, and her deteriorating condition. Unexpectedly, all of...

Years ago, an event caused us PTSD. Jessie, 16 years old, was in the hospital’s intensive care with severe respiratory difficulties for 2 months. However, the hospital wanted her to...

I have regrets! Not with my daughter who had SMA and passed away at 17 years old, but for myself with regrets...survivor regrets. My daughter, Jessie, was a twin with...