The Phone Call: Raising A Son With Special Needs

I am in the Bathroom at Target. My cell phone rings. It is my son's school. I answer. "Willie is having a seizure. The Ambulance is on the way. Come quickly." 

As parents, we develop a special relationship to the telephone, especially when our kids are not with us. We need to be connected to our precious people through the phone because God Forbid you get The Phone Call.

I was reminded of the Target trauma yesterday when The Phone Call came again. This time he said, "Willie had a sledding accident. " But he has a thick Scottish accent and my adrenaline was already pulsing and I heard "Willie had a seizure." It took me at least 30 seconds to understand this it was only a broken foot.  Sure, I am upset. Sure, I am sad for my son to have such pain he cannot sleep for a night or two. Sure, I am frustrated that he will be even more sedentary than usual until his foot heals. But this Phone Call was a no biggie.

You see, all parents get The Phone Call sometime throughout their child's life.  It's just that when your son has a Seizure Disorder, has been in Critical Condition too many times, The Phone Call becomes transformed.  If it just a broken foot, you take a huge breath of relief. You learn that a broken foot can heal. Your Special Needs child can teach you literally not to sweat the small stuff.  They can teach you what exactly is the small stuff. You can turn away from that clear lesson and run around on high alert all the time. You can choose to worry that a terrible germ will get into your son's blood and cause Meningitis and then Brain Damage. You can worry about everything that could happen to all your children. That loop is endless and the possibilities drastic. You can spend your life waiting for the next Phone Call!

Or you can choose another path. You can realize that you are not in control of anything. You surrender. You find faith and hope in the moments. You can embrace your life as it is and choose this motto for your life: whatever good comes from such tragedy, and there always is such good; embrace it and wrap it around your sore and tired hearts. It is what will keep you going. Willie has taught me well and I  have listened. 

The Phone Calls keep coming. We must answer, with trepidation and hesitation. And we breathe a sigh of relief, depending on the news. And if we are taken into tragedy, we find a way to cope. We find a way to turn this into some positive. We have no choice. Our kiddos deserve this. They insist.