A sweet little girl in the CHOP waiting room was very impressed by Aidan’s bling. It’s so shiny, mommy! It’s just like your pretty bracelet! Can I get one too?
I think kids are born to admire. What a cute, teeny baby! What a shiny bracelet! What a cool special lunchtime chair! Little kids seem to just understand to look for what’s the same, rather than what’s different. Aidan’s just another kid – he’s silly, he’s loud, he likes to run, he doesn’t like having his nose wiped. He’s exactly like them, except for when he’s a little different. Kids don’t pity him, or worry that they’re going to say the “wrong” thing. They look, they accept, and they play.
I wish adults saw him that way. They don’t. Some days, even I don’t. It’s a struggle. It’s so ingrained in us to point out what’s different and to internalize it. I can’t imagine how awful life would be if I couldn’t eat pizza. It would be – for me. I love pizza. But for him? Not so awful. He doesn’t love pizza. He loves laughing, and he loves running, and he loves playing – and none of those things are going away.
When I look at that arm, I see a little boy who needs more attention and more care. But that little girl saw shiny and pretty. And do you know what Aidan sees when he looks down? An arm.
For seriousness's sake, Aidan does wear MedicAlert's Child's Steel Bracelet. It's wonderful for peace of mind - a simple call to MedicAlert will tell first responders of his allergies, his condition, and his emergency contacts.
For space's sake (he's tiny, and so is his bracelet) we chose to have the following engraved, along with his MedicAlert ID number. These are the most emergent of his issues - the EGIDs can be learned of later - but these are the thing that will alter the way care is provided in an emergency situation.
| FOOD | |||||||||||
| INDUCED | |||||||||||
| ANAPHYLAXIS | |||||||||||
| REACTIVE AIRWAY | |||||||||||
| DISEASE. |
They are so very affordable - we highly recommend MedicAlert. They'll help you determine what to engrave and how to size the bracelet. And they're oh so stylish!
If only we could all see through the eyes of a child - and just see the pretty and shiny aspects of everything <3
ReplyDeleteI often wonder what it would be like to view the world as a child again. Everything so new and so beautiful.
DeleteI thought of this while watching Anderson Cooper with you Saturday night. When the mother said they took him out of school because THE PARENTS didn't want their children in a food-free room. THEY wanted to be able to have cupcakes for birthday. I'm guessing the 4-5 year olds wouldn't think to ask why not. It would just be.
ReplyDeleteI've found that kids are infinitely sweeter, more accepting, and less stressed about all of this. We could learn a thing or two.
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