Meeting Kate

I met Kate on Saturday morning. I was at Megan's shower. Kate is Megan's friend from her Freshman year at college. I had never met her before, but I will never forget her.

I'm  not sure how we got talking about this, but somehow it came out that she has a sister with special needs and I have a son with special needs. So we talked. And talked. About lots of things, actually. It's times like this that you know you meet certain people at certain times in your life for a reason.

One of my biggest things with Amelia and Isaac is how is Amelia going to do as a sibling? Taking care of him, embarrassment, jealousy......

It was nice to talk to a sibling of a special needs child. It wasn't just a story, it was face-to-face interaction. It was honest.

She told me that her sister is so sweet and loving. They love her. She also told me that she didn't fully understand the situation until she got older. Kate realized early on that she may be the one that takes care of her sister as her parents age. She also had to talk to her husband about this before they got married.

There is also something that brings fear inside as she anticipates having her first child, "Is this genetic? Will I have a child with special needs, too?"

She said it is heartbreaking to see times when her sister is made fun of. I dread that for both of my children, but especially Isaac.

I loved a story she told me of when her little sister met another girl with special needs. She looked at the other girl, cocked her head, then just went up to her and gave her a hug. They both knew that they were different and therefore the same. She doesn't usually go up to people and hug them, so the family knew there was a special connection there.

I then told her of my experiences with having so many around with FXS. I told her the story of when I broke the news to friends and family that Isaac has FXS and when my nephew got so excited that he had another boy in the family like him:)

Overall, it was a very neat experience I will never forget. Another experience of connecting with another person that understands. There are many out there:)