By: Stacie Lewis This is my last post for The Next Family. I want to thank the publishers for asking me to include my posts in the first place. Like the other “next” families on this site, it is very rare to read about disabled families. I no longer have time to post here, but […]
By: Stacie Lewis My nephew is turning seven soon. He is old enough to understand scientific classifications of dinosaurs. He is old enough to know his way around a refrigerator (as in: he hates almost everything inside of it). He is old enough to understand that the store named “Buy Buy Baby” is a play […]
By: Stacie Lewis My daughter May will be a big sister in July! Congratulations May! You have much to teach a younger sibling about bouncing and giggles. I will admit to a bit of trepidation in telling people. After everything that happened with May and all the challenges we encounter (though rarely from May herself, […]
By: Stacie Lewis Earlier this week, Riven Vincent announced on Mumsnet, an online forum for mothers, that she made the devastating decision to give up her daughter into the care of the British Social Services. Social Services would not provide her with more than six hours a week respite, and she desperately needed more. Vincent […]
By: Stacie Lewis Maybe that sounded like a rhetorical question. If you are a fan of Frankie Boyle, or had the unfortunate accident of seeing his new television show, laughing at my daughter, May, is part of the entertainment. I say “laughing at May” but Boyle performs jokes at her expense and the expense of […]
By: Stacie Lewis This week, a new weapon in May’s cuteness arsenal: her Supergirl Lycra Suit. Lycra suits help children with cerebral palsy gain better control of their bodies. May’s suit is made to measure and fits like a glove. May has to be zipped into it at six points: front, back and both arms […]
By: Stacie Lewis Early after May’s release from the hospital, it became clear for the doctors that May’s seizures were the biggest concern. Like the rest of her injuries, the cause of her seizures perplexed them. One by one, May trial’d numerous seizure medications –seven so far; currently May takes four. May began the most […]
By: Stacie Lewis Nothing better than an Autumn stroll. If only everything about this season were as full of joy as May’s smile when her stroller crushes crispy leaves. May’s weight, or lack thereof, has her therapists in a tizzy. It’s been low, but I did manage to pile some pudge on May over the […]
By: Stacie Lewis Ellen Seidman, an editor at Redbook, wrote a beautiful essay in this month’s magazine about her son and their Halloween tradition. I was stunned to learn that someone took the time to write in, chastising her for adjusting Halloween so he could enjoy it, terror-free. Worse, after it was reported on the […]
By: Stacie Lewis By “how far we’ve come,” I don’t mean London via Detroit, Chicago, and Amsterdam -utilizing both trains and planes -like I did when traveling back home to the States this past year. That is the literal definition. No, what I mean is: “Isn’t it incredible how far we’ve come since May was first […]
