It takes a village

The African proverb ""It takes a village to raise a child" was made famous by former first lady Hillary Clinton. This has never been more true than in the case of a special needs child. No one can get through this journey without the ongoing support of family, great friends, and professionals of all shapes and specialities. Therapists, doctors, care givers, social workers, medical personnel become a daily part of all our lives. Today Ryan said goodbye to the wonderful ladies who have laid a great foundation for his next "village" to build upon. These ladies have all shared in my moments of utter happiness and sometimes despair, have been there when I needed advice on new treatments, or diagnosis' that were on the table. Have talked me back from the edge when i would get down about Ryan's lack of progress. And most importantly have been there for Ryan to encourage, and help every step of the way. They were able to see promise in the early days when my judgement was severely clouded by the circumstances we found ourselves in. I opened up my home to them and in turn I made some wonderful friends who I hope will be around in the years to come.

Good Bye Diana.

Ryan is going to miss you more than we all know. You went above and beyond the job of nanny every day, making sure Ryan was able to practice all his therapy, but also taking him to the park, the library class, and swimming so he could just be a normal little boy at times. Although I'm sure carrying a half naked 33 lb low tone toddler into the pool was no easy feat for your little frame. I'm going to miss having someone around to remind me when I forget appointments are coming up, and someone to keep Ryan's stuff incredibly organised, clean and tidy!

Good Bye Susan. (OT)

You have been with us since Ryan was 5 months old. You have seen him grow from the little baby who couldn't even hold his head up on the ball, to the walking, crawling wonder he is now. I truly believe it was your determination that made this little guy crawl. You were the one that worked on it the most and you weren't giving up.

Good bye Stacey (DI)
You had a bit of a rough run of it with Ryan at the start. For some reason he hated play therapy and cried through most of the early sessions. But he came to love you like I did, and now he lights up when we mention your name. Thank you for always treating me as a fellow mother, and friend first, and not as a client. Your insight was always appreciated, even when it was something you technically weren't supposed to say ;) You always put our family and Ryan first and the job second
Good Bye Suzanne (ST)
Ryan has enjoyed every session with you. He has watched and waited to see what comes out of your bag of tools next. You were able to get him to respond in ways no one else could. Thank you for always believing in him and for seeing so much potential. Good Bye Marilyn (PT)
Dear friend, thank you, thank you, thank you! When you joined our team a door was opened and hope stepped in. Words are not enough. See ya at Hippotherapy :)