Life in Walmart with a Special Needs Child

They always say that bad kids are a great form of birth control. Everyone is so quick to conclude that the child has bad upbringing or bad parents (myself included), but rarely is it considered that a child might have some serious medical issues, even though it may not be physically evident.

For example, one of our girls, who I have talked about many times, is a patient at St. Jude. She has a cancerous brain tumor that has taken most of her vision and a quarter of her brain. Yesterday, I took her to Walmart to pick out bedding for her new room. It was really fun and she was very excited. So excited, that she was running way ahead of me (and I was trying my best to call her to me/keep up with her). You can feel eyes looking at you and the child. Sometimes you want to say, "I'm sorry, but the reason she ran up to your buggy and started to dig for something she put in my buggy is because she can't see what she's doing. Couple that with a strong will, physical strength and independence, and she's a handful, literally.

So, the next time you're in Applebee's giving dirty looks to a child who might not be able to see you, or glare at the parents when the child keeps asking the same question or accidently knocks a broom down because she can't fully grasp her surroundings, act with empathy instead of judgement. I wouldn't trade a day for this life, and it is a life I chose to be apart of. I just wish others would understand without me having to pull them aside and explain that she really is a great child, she just happens to need special care.