Don't tell ME my son won't amount to anything .... just because he cannot walk or talk doesn't mean he's stupid or incapable of doing things.  He does things, but he does it in his own special way.  And I will do all I can to help him succeed in a world not ready to accept him; you just watch ...

My son's name is Owen Michael.  He is four years old now.  Doctors didn't think he'd live to see a year, but God, obviously, had other plans.  And He isn't finished with Owen just yet.  

Owen has microcephaly, which simply means his head size is smaller than normal.  He also has cerebral palsy that's affected all four limbs and because of this he is spastic.  In addition, he is legally blind; he can see but not very well in order to read or see faces; he just sees blurry shapes or light if it's bright enough. 

When he was born, Owen weighed just one pound and was a foot long.  He was impossibly tiny.  He was born five months early; I was just in my fourth month of pregnancy when my water broke after I had fallen on some ice.  He was born later that night; doctors gave him zero chance of survival.  That's how tiny he was.  Yet like the little fighter he's always been, Owen fought with everything he had and he still continues to fight to this very day.  I've never seen anything like it; his courage is nothing but extraordinary!

I am his primary caregiver.  I dress/undress him, diaper him, give him his foods and medications (via g-tube), and make sure he's comfortable.  I also shuttle him back and forth to his therapy and doctor's appointments.  I lead a very busy life, but as I said, I will do everything possible to help my boy.

Unfortunately, my weasel of a husband couldn't cope with Owen's needs, so he left me.  It was a horrible time; I'm just now starting to get my life back and am trying to move past that.  I have filed for divorce and find that I am much happier, now that Charles is no longer in my life.  I'm much better off without him, and so is Owen.  Owen doesn't need a daddy who doesn't support him, and I don't need that either.

I spend a lot of my time advocating for my son.  If nobody else will stick up for him, who will?  I am very vocal in expressing my opinions, whether it is to nosy neighbors, his teachers/therapists, his doctors, or insensitive people who don't know any better or think it is cute to stare or make rude comments regarding my son.  I'm sorry; I don't take to that nonsense, and I WILL let them know just how I feel.  I have gotten into trouble a time a two, but I don't care.  My child's needs come first, and they always will!  Owen is my world; he is my everything!

Well, it's time to get Owen's evening medications ready and to hook him up to his feeding pump for the night; he gets a nutritional suppliment while he sleeps.  It's then time to put him to bed.  I will write in here again another time; until later, this is Clarinda Calhoun saying so long; may God bless you always!  Thanks for allowing me to share my story!

~Clarinda.  :)