Sibling Love

I have talked about Mike’s good friends who were always including him with all their adventures. 

Well, the best friend of all in his younger years was his brother Dan. He was always available for Mike’s needs. 

Sibling support and love

Both of them were avid sports fans, and they both agreed on all the Philadelphia teams and enjoyed going to the games together. They did differ on their favorite college football team. Mike is a Notre Dame fan and Dan is a Penn State fan.

Mike’s dream was to go to a Notre Dame football game. Dan took him on a road trip to tour the campus and watch a game. Another bucket list item checked off.

As you can understand, when you are the sole person taking care of Mike’s needs and safety, it is an act of love. This is truly sibling love and a necessary blessing for Mike’s quality of life.

Whenever Mike had a desire to play his music (piano and guitar), reorganize his room, go shopping for gifts, it was his sister Allison that he called. They both shared their love and appreciation for music.

Mike learned to play both piano and guitar which gave him hours of entertainment. He also gave lessons to Allison and they again found a shared love. So again Mike is blessed with sibling love.

Peace of mind as parents to have help

As parents, we are so thankful that Mike has two siblings who are so supportive and kind to him. Any parent with a child of special needs knows that is a number one concern for when we are no longer here in this world.

We are assured that he could depend on his siblings. The most welcomed peace of mind for us.

There is anxiety and constant worry about all the possibilities of all unfortunate outcomes for your child in this world. It doesn’t matter that your child has now grown into a mature intelligent adult, they are still your child who needs support and care to remain safe and happy.

A good attitude towards caretakers

If you are a person living with a disability, you're aware that having a good attitude will take you a long way. This will give your family, friends, or caregivers a more positive experience while helping you.

As a parent who experienced having a child who indeed needed assistance with his daily personal care, it was much appreciated that he had a great attitude. It always filled me with joy helping to make his daily life more pleasant.

We recognize that there will be days when you are just down and sad over your health situation. Perfectly understandable when you allow yourself to feel all those emotions. 

There are daily struggles that can leave you exhausted and feeling frustrated. As a parent, we learn to step back and give the space needed to experience these emotions, even if they are perceived as negative.

Every one of us has these bad days, but the hope is they don’t come too often. What’s that old saying "we take the good and the bad and just move onto a better day." Here’s to better days!!!