Leaving a Legacy for 5 kids
Donation protected
Where do I start...well let's start back at the beginning of how we got here. How I got where I am and how you got here to read about it.
I met Jeff when my uncle married his sister (funny true story). I was living in Montreal at the time and had driven up with my dad and sister to go to our uncle's wedding.
First time I met him, I thought he was a jackass. What I failed to realise was he was a people watcher and paid close attention to those who were speaking. Quiet and reserved man but when you get to know him...oh boy, crazy wild sense of humour and fun loving big kid at heart.
We met in August, he didn't call me until October.
That was the start of something we both didn't think would see to hell and back and then some. From financial destitution to comfortable pay check to pay check. Struggling with parenting and special needs kids. Borrowing money to lending money.
Our first son, was a shocker. Born during a massive snow storm 3 months premature. What a way to be thrown into parenthood. Due to his prematurity his difficulties with his ADHD - innatentive diagnosis are rearing its head. Struggling in school but a great kid. His medications that the doctors want to try are expensive, they aren't covered. I can't believe when he was born that he was so tiny he could fit along the length of your forearm with his little head in the palm of your hand. He was a micro-preemie. You could see through his skin, all his viens and arteries pulsing under that transluscent skin. Now, well look at him. He almost taller than me and has big feet. Athletic, smart, funny.
Our first born daughter. I look at her picture and think ... I blinked. How the hell did she grow up so fast. She takes after her mother, a caretaker. She's artistic, a painter and writer. Loves drawing like I do. Takes care of people too. I'm jealous she is so photogenic, I never was. When I was pregnant with her, I spent 10 weeks in the hospital (incredibly boring if you can't afford the 70 bucks a week for television, thank goodness for books). She was almost born at 24 weeks, luckily our medical technology made it so she was only 9 days early. I'm grateful for that.
My middle child. Oh there is so much that can be said for him. He's an Aspie (Asperger's Syndrome). Very high functioning to the point they are transitioning him back to mainstream this year, fully. I'm proud of his accomplishments. He's like his dad, quiet, reserved - people watcher. Full of passion and emotion. He never lets being an Aspie bring him down (quite the temper too, he gets that from me).
Our youngest daughter. She keeps us on our toes. She is Autistic (Autism Spectrum Disorder). We had a traumatic birth, her and I. She was a footling breech with prolapsed cord and uterine rupture.
In layman's terms. She was feet first, her cord fell past her feet and cut off oxygen to her brain and my uterus, well, exploded (organ rupture). Emergency c-section. I was told that 24 nurses and doctors hollered out of pure joy that she was still alive when they pulled her out. They cried, whooped and cheered. I only found out after the fact because I was put under a general anesthesia for her birth. Jeff said it was the worse night of his life and the best. Signing away your wife and childs lives was the worse part. Knowing they both survived, the best part.
She needs medications we can't afford. She goes to a school for exceptional children and has what the Autism community refers to as elopement behaviors. It's wandering, she wanders far sometimes and all the measures we've taken she evades. She can beat Sean Connery in The Rock for escaping all measures of keeping her in sight and safe. We can't afford her GPS unit and the service. It is a unit that acts not just as a GPS tracker (and doesn't replace proper supervision of course) but as a simple cell phone that call two or three numbers with the touch of a button or I can call her.
A lot of her antics happen when we are all asleep at night. Despite these antics and behaviors she is the most loving, amazing little girl. Compassionate, caring and selfless. Smart and funny. Nobody can break out a first aid kit and kiss a boo boo better than her.
Our youngest. The cuddle bug. The lover of people. The extrovert. He was born 2 months premature with a PDA and GERD (patent ductus arteriousis and gastro esophegeal reflux disease). Doesn't stop him, never has. He is a force to be reckoned with. Always on the go, your typical little boy. He has mom's temper too (sorry Jeff) and don't ever come between him and his food. Man that kid can pack it away.
Then there is me...
I'm a graphics designer by trade but I'm also the caregiver type. I worked as a palliative end of live community support worker but left that job to support my husband's business. Deejaying (if you'd asked me 10 years ago if I'd deejay as a career I'd laugh and tell you you were nuts).
I do book covers on the side for a small publishing press, it's not much but it's something. Helping Jeff run his business in a small defunct mining turned retirement community is rough. It's expensive, and it is a pay check to pay check kind of deal. It leaves us no wiggle room for extra expenses like a GPS unit for our youngest daughter or medications any of them may need.
We'd like to pay off some business loans, a credit card and get those medications and the GPS unit for our little girl. I know it seems like a lot to ask for, and believe me I have a complexe in asking for help from anyone (I'm a caregiver personality, I rather help then ask for it).
I know a lot of people have a very hard time believing "sob stories". I don't blame them. In this day and age it's hard to weed out the bad from the good. Hard to figure out who is who these days. I feel like I'm asking for the Brooklyn Bridge, I hate having to ask but our kids come first. They always have and always will. If you can give just a little, even a buck I'd be happy. Whatever goes above and beyond what I'm asking for will be donated to our local mental health unit, the community living services here and the school my daughter goes to (they struggle with 35 kids in their school and funding got cut by our government quite harshly).
I know I've written a novel here but I'm grateful to you for stopping by and taking the time to get to know us and even if you haven't donated, thank you for caring enough to sift through all these go fund me stories. Whoever you help, I hope it puts a smile on your face and theirs.
I met Jeff when my uncle married his sister (funny true story). I was living in Montreal at the time and had driven up with my dad and sister to go to our uncle's wedding.
First time I met him, I thought he was a jackass. What I failed to realise was he was a people watcher and paid close attention to those who were speaking. Quiet and reserved man but when you get to know him...oh boy, crazy wild sense of humour and fun loving big kid at heart.
We met in August, he didn't call me until October.
That was the start of something we both didn't think would see to hell and back and then some. From financial destitution to comfortable pay check to pay check. Struggling with parenting and special needs kids. Borrowing money to lending money.
Our first son, was a shocker. Born during a massive snow storm 3 months premature. What a way to be thrown into parenthood. Due to his prematurity his difficulties with his ADHD - innatentive diagnosis are rearing its head. Struggling in school but a great kid. His medications that the doctors want to try are expensive, they aren't covered. I can't believe when he was born that he was so tiny he could fit along the length of your forearm with his little head in the palm of your hand. He was a micro-preemie. You could see through his skin, all his viens and arteries pulsing under that transluscent skin. Now, well look at him. He almost taller than me and has big feet. Athletic, smart, funny.
Our first born daughter. I look at her picture and think ... I blinked. How the hell did she grow up so fast. She takes after her mother, a caretaker. She's artistic, a painter and writer. Loves drawing like I do. Takes care of people too. I'm jealous she is so photogenic, I never was. When I was pregnant with her, I spent 10 weeks in the hospital (incredibly boring if you can't afford the 70 bucks a week for television, thank goodness for books). She was almost born at 24 weeks, luckily our medical technology made it so she was only 9 days early. I'm grateful for that.
My middle child. Oh there is so much that can be said for him. He's an Aspie (Asperger's Syndrome). Very high functioning to the point they are transitioning him back to mainstream this year, fully. I'm proud of his accomplishments. He's like his dad, quiet, reserved - people watcher. Full of passion and emotion. He never lets being an Aspie bring him down (quite the temper too, he gets that from me).
Our youngest daughter. She keeps us on our toes. She is Autistic (Autism Spectrum Disorder). We had a traumatic birth, her and I. She was a footling breech with prolapsed cord and uterine rupture.
In layman's terms. She was feet first, her cord fell past her feet and cut off oxygen to her brain and my uterus, well, exploded (organ rupture). Emergency c-section. I was told that 24 nurses and doctors hollered out of pure joy that she was still alive when they pulled her out. They cried, whooped and cheered. I only found out after the fact because I was put under a general anesthesia for her birth. Jeff said it was the worse night of his life and the best. Signing away your wife and childs lives was the worse part. Knowing they both survived, the best part.
She needs medications we can't afford. She goes to a school for exceptional children and has what the Autism community refers to as elopement behaviors. It's wandering, she wanders far sometimes and all the measures we've taken she evades. She can beat Sean Connery in The Rock for escaping all measures of keeping her in sight and safe. We can't afford her GPS unit and the service. It is a unit that acts not just as a GPS tracker (and doesn't replace proper supervision of course) but as a simple cell phone that call two or three numbers with the touch of a button or I can call her.
A lot of her antics happen when we are all asleep at night. Despite these antics and behaviors she is the most loving, amazing little girl. Compassionate, caring and selfless. Smart and funny. Nobody can break out a first aid kit and kiss a boo boo better than her.
Our youngest. The cuddle bug. The lover of people. The extrovert. He was born 2 months premature with a PDA and GERD (patent ductus arteriousis and gastro esophegeal reflux disease). Doesn't stop him, never has. He is a force to be reckoned with. Always on the go, your typical little boy. He has mom's temper too (sorry Jeff) and don't ever come between him and his food. Man that kid can pack it away.
Then there is me...
I'm a graphics designer by trade but I'm also the caregiver type. I worked as a palliative end of live community support worker but left that job to support my husband's business. Deejaying (if you'd asked me 10 years ago if I'd deejay as a career I'd laugh and tell you you were nuts).
I do book covers on the side for a small publishing press, it's not much but it's something. Helping Jeff run his business in a small defunct mining turned retirement community is rough. It's expensive, and it is a pay check to pay check kind of deal. It leaves us no wiggle room for extra expenses like a GPS unit for our youngest daughter or medications any of them may need.
We'd like to pay off some business loans, a credit card and get those medications and the GPS unit for our little girl. I know it seems like a lot to ask for, and believe me I have a complexe in asking for help from anyone (I'm a caregiver personality, I rather help then ask for it).
I know a lot of people have a very hard time believing "sob stories". I don't blame them. In this day and age it's hard to weed out the bad from the good. Hard to figure out who is who these days. I feel like I'm asking for the Brooklyn Bridge, I hate having to ask but our kids come first. They always have and always will. If you can give just a little, even a buck I'd be happy. Whatever goes above and beyond what I'm asking for will be donated to our local mental health unit, the community living services here and the school my daughter goes to (they struggle with 35 kids in their school and funding got cut by our government quite harshly).
I know I've written a novel here but I'm grateful to you for stopping by and taking the time to get to know us and even if you haven't donated, thank you for caring enough to sift through all these go fund me stories. Whoever you help, I hope it puts a smile on your face and theirs.
Organizer
Sheal Mullin-Berube
Organizer
Elliot Lake, ON
