Emma was born healthy and had a happy infancy until the day she was rushed to the hospital with a life threatening head injury. She wasn’t expected to survive.
She needed emergency neurosurgery and was hospitalized for two months. «My beautiful, healthy, and happy baby lost her ability to smile, to sit up, to eat, to swallow, to make eye contact–things a baby should do at 11 months,» said Jaime. Emma celebrated her first birthday in the hospital.
«As a single mother, I had many concerns: home, food, and money, and on top of that, a baby girl who needed a lot of care. When it came time to bring her home, I was terrified,» Jaime recalled. «I cried non-stop.»
Jaime remembers each day seemed like an uphill battle. But she moved forward by focusing on her daughter’s health first. Assistance and resources from Raising Special Kids helped her navigate systems of care, and she learned about medical diagnoses, therapies, finding new treatments, and special education.
«It’s been so overwhelming at times. When I returned to working full time, it was the most liberating moment–I felt we could finally begin to live our lives. I have been able to look at Emma and stop seeing what’s ‘wrong’ with her and wondering about ‘what could have been.’ I focus now on what is right with her and what we have today.»