Dear Adelaide,
I am your mother, and by all means the definition of such a hefty title includes protecting you. Amongst my other duties… love, feed, house, clothe, I take the job of protecting you seriously. You are my first born, grown in me on the heels of a lost pregnancy. Everything I ever dreamed of placed on your shoulders. And you are perfection. Not because you won’t make mistakes, but because we will make mistakes with each other. As my involuntary muscles provide my lungs the power to inflate and compress, my title incites protection of you inevitably. Without effort.
But I will also be honest with you, my love.
You are disabled.
Achondroplasia is in fact, a disability.
Don’t shudder when you hear it or say it. It’s just a part of you. Achondroplasia. Dwarfism. Disability. These things are not you. They are a part of you. YOU are you. All of you. So hold your head up high, lady. Because you are amazing. You are stunning. You are brave. You are smart.
And all that you are… it has nothing to do with your disability. It’s not because you are inspirational. It’s not because you are different.
It’s because you are you.
And because you are you. Because I (we, I love your Daddy very much) made you. Because things happen in a different way for different people in life. You may be denied certain things in your life. Things you deserve.
The biggest one, at the forefront of my mind: care.
Your Dad and I work hard. Every day. And we provide. We also live in, are natural born citizens of, a country that claims to be the greatest country in the world. But we, as said country, do not always care for our citizens (don’t even get me started on what happens if you’re not a citizen), and you deserve care.
Not because you are disabled, but because in order to be the greatest, we need to be the greatest.
We need to hold up all of our people (citizen or not) and you are a people. You are my people. You deserve care.
Medical care is yours to have, Adelaide. And I will fight, every single day, for that.
We love you, Adelaide. Not everyone will- this is not because of you- but because of them. Even without the love of the world, you deserve care.
We fight for insurance as though that is a guarantee for anything, but we have insurance and thousands in debt. I can promise you, insurance is not what you need, but care. And we will get that for you. We will provide that for you.
Because you deserve care.
There are certain flaws in the system, things even I am unsure how to “fix”, but I know there must be a way to debug. We, your parents, are the tech generation. Debugging is what we do. This flawed system is nothing but the beginning of something great.
This is not democratic or republican, this is human. We are on the brink of an election that could change our nation- change for a better future. May that come to fruition for you, and everyone else. Because we all deserve care.
She is such a beautiful young lady. She does deserve care. And you are right, everyone does. Sadly I think our healthcare system is so broken it would have to be completely torn down and rebuilt to work the way it should for everyone. I hope it happens some day, for your kids and mine and everyone else.
valmg @ Mom Knows It All recently posted…This Week’s Winners On Mom Knows It All
I hope it does provide for everyone the way it needs to… I hope in our lifetime, for sure.
Chelley @ A is for Adelaide recently posted…New Traditions and Non-Candy Easter Baskets
I so agree with you. Every single person who resides in this country deserves “care” . A start has been made but so much more needs to be done. Here’s hoping that what has already been accomplished will be made even better over the years.
Michele recently posted…$50 PayPal GA-1-WW-Tax Time Giveaway-Ends 4/15 (1 AM)
SO much more for sure.
Chelley @ A is for Adelaide recently posted…5 Non-Candy Ideas to Fill Your Easter Eggs!
You have a very beautiful Daughter. I grew up with a disability and really never knew I was disabled. Sure, I had problems…. but my parents treated me no different than an of my siblings. That made me strong!!!
As for healthcare. Every US citizen should have it …. and we don’t without paying through the nose. Sad that things are like this.
Terry recently posted…Michelle Abbruzzese’s Work It Dance & Fitness Presents Two New DVDS Dance Yourself Fit and Tone & Tighten
That’s awesome of your parents! There’s no way Addie wouldn’t know, so we embrace it! We love her no more and no less for dwarfism, though she has bragging rights that her genes work better(!) than our own! regardless, people with dwarfism are still denied for all sorts of things, including life insurance and supplementary insurances, so I work hard for her to be eligible. i cannot imagine not having health insurance. That is truly horrifying.
Chelley @ A is for Adelaide recently posted…5 Non-Candy Ideas to Fill Your Easter Eggs!
What a gorgeous child. And yes, she deserves care. I strongly believe it is a right and not a privilege.
Truth!
Chelley @ A is for Adelaide recently posted…5 Non-Candy Ideas to Fill Your Easter Eggs!
Slow clap to everthing about this post!
<3
Chelley @ A is for Adelaide recently posted…5 Non-Candy Ideas to Fill Your Easter Eggs!
Such a powerful letter to Adelaide, she’s still pretty and smart. Everybody deserve health care.
Everyone does, indeed.
Chelley @ A is for Adelaide recently posted…5 Non-Candy Ideas to Fill Your Easter Eggs!
Amen. I get frustrated by this on a regular basis. I am hopeful that things will improve, but there’s a huge part of me that feels hope is a waste of my energy. 🙁
Never wasted! We keep pushing and keep trying and we will make that change!
Chelley @ A is for Adelaide recently posted…5 Non-Candy Ideas to Fill Your Easter Eggs!
I completely agree with you, everyone deserves care. This election is a very important one and I’m watching it closely, as someone who lives with a chronic medical condition.
Toughcookiemommy recently posted…Family Movie Night Featuring The Peanuts Movie! #ThePEANUTSSpring @Snoopy Ad
We have to, right? It seems like there is actual evil out there trying to undo something good that’s finally started.
Chelley @ A is for Adelaide recently posted…5 Non-Candy Ideas to Fill Your Easter Eggs!
She is so beautiful, it melts my heart when children are disabled. I m glad you ar taking the time to share your journies, I’m inspired by you.
nicole recently posted…Floating Peep Lemonade Cocktail!
Thanks for stopping by!
Chelley @ A is for Adelaide recently posted…How to remove a tree stump, Part I
heart touching for me good to share that withus