Thirteen years ago, following a great pregnancy, I became a mom via an emergency C-section.

I didnt know this at the time, but my baby girls heart rate wasnt fluctuating during contractions. After spending time in the NICU at a local childrens hospital, visiting several doctors and doing research, it was determined that my beautiful daughter, Lizzy, was going to be delayed. Lizzy was profoundly mentally disabled (PMD).

Accepting the truth

Lizzy has cerebral palsy (CP), an incurable and permanent condition that affects the brain. Lizzy has seizures and she drools because her brain doesn't tell her to swallow. For months, I pulled away from everyone. I was mad and my anger eventually turned to horrible sadness. I felt like the daughter I dreamed about and hoped for was dead. I was so depressed. My marriage to my husband, Damon, a high school teacher and football coach, suffered. I felt like I had done this somehow. But when Lizzy began smiling at 12 months, I started feeling differently. Shed come off of some strong seizure medicine and started acting like a baby. Eventually, I began telling myself that Lizzy was perfect and I wouldnt want her any other way. In 2002, I had another daughter, Emily. Lizzy was almost 3 and was our special needs child. I f ound it difficult to accept that Emily was meeting all the milestones that Lizzy wasnt. Every time Emily hit a milestone that Lizzy didnt, it felt like a punch in the gut. But, life had to keep going forward. I learned to grieve those milestones and move on. By the time my son Jack was born in 2007, Lizzy was 8 and had just learned to walk. I felt like I had two babies. Both in diapers, both spoon fed, and both in strollers. We didnt go out much. I have no clue where our energy came from.

Loving Lizzy
Im a stay-at-home mom and a parent advisor for the CP Family Network, a website to help empower CP families. Damon is a hands-on dad he has to be in order for this family to function. Our two younger ones are into sports and Lizzy comes with us to practices and games.

"Lizzys love language is touch."

Lizzy is a happy girl she loves music and snuggling. She depends on us 100 percent of the time. We get lots of looks and questions about Lizzy she often draws attention by squealing loudly. She has seizures that are not completely controlled with medicine. She doesnt chew so all meals have to be soft and easy to swallow. She is legally blind so she needs help with walking. Shes mostly nonver bal though she recently said Mama and shes still in diapers. Lizzy likes and needs to have a routine. She attends middle school with adapted hours. She goes to school at 9:00 and I pick her up at 3:00. She takes a two-hour nap when she gets home from school and is back in bed by 8:00 p.m. Her room is filled with baby toys that vibrate, light up or play music. Lizzy may not know what is going on around her, but she has a heart and she needs respect just like any other human being. Lizzys love language is touch. Hugging or wrestling, it doesnt matter, she loves both.

Seeing the joy

One thing that Ive really tried to do with my other two kids is spend time with each of them, alone. My biggest fear is Emily or Jack growing up and resenting me for giving Lizzy all the attention and barely any to them. Emily and Jack have learned a lot about a special needs life. They are more aware of other kids with needs. They arent afraid of them.

That warms my heart more than anything. I know they would stand up for these kids. My kids have learned patience and its something that I really only learned when I had Lizzy. We feel blessed to have Lizzy in our family. Lizzys touched more lives in her short 13 years than I have in almost 40! Lizzy has taught us compassion, unconditional love, and the understanding that things could be worse.

Which information obtained from the mother of a child with cerebral palsy correlates to the diagnosis?

She was born at 40 weeks gestation. She had meningitis when she was six months old. She had physiologic jaundice after delivery. She has frequent sore throats. Answer B is correct. The diagnosis of meningitis at age six months correlates to a diagnosis of cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder, is often associated with birth trauma or infections of the brain or spinal column. Answers A, C and D are not related to the question.

A 6-year-old with cerebral palsy functions at the level of an 18-month-old. Which finding would support that assessment?

She She She She

dresses herself. pulls a toy behind her. can build a tower of eight blocks. can copy a horizontal or vertical line.

Question was not answered Answer B is correct. Children at 18 months of age like push-pull toys. Children at approximately three years of age begin to dress themselves and build a tower of eight blocks. At age four, children can copy a horizontal or vertical line. Therefore, answers A, C, and D are incorrect. 19. A toddler has recently been diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Which of the following information should the nurse provide to the parents? Note: More than one answer may be correct. a. Regular developmental screening is important to avoid secondary developmental delays. b. Cerebral palsy is caused by injury to the upper motor neurons and results in motor dysfunction, as well as possible ocular and speech difficulties. c. Developmental milestones may be slightly delayed but usually will require no additional intervention.

d. Parent support groups are helpful for sharing strategies and managing health care issues. 19. A, B, D Delayed developmental milestones are characteristic of cerebral palsy, so regular screening and intervention is essential. Because of injury to upper motor neurons, children may have ocular and speech difficulties. Parent support groups help families to share and cope. Physical therapy and other interventions can minimize the extent of the delay in developmental milestones.

A parent asks the nurse to tell her what cerebral palsy is. The best response of the nurse would be that it is a: 1.) motor disability caused by a nonprogressive disturbance in brain development 2.) disorder of the brain that results in mental retardation 3.) complication of the birth process that causes brain damage 4.) brain disorder that involves seizures Motor disability caused by a nonprogressive disturbance in brain development