Christine Lester is back with the second part of her series about what it means to be the parent of a child with EA TEF.

In last Monday’s EA TEF post, Christine Lester shared the first half of her light-hearted list about parents of kids with EA/TEF repairs. Today, she shares the second half on the list, based on her life as mother of Billy, or as he’s known at school, the Mayor.

More Ways to Identify Parents of Kids with EA TEF Repairs:

  1. You have fought with the front desk staff about NOT putting your child in the ‘sick waiting room’ as this is how they always sound. Then you secretly pray your child doesn’t sit next to the week old newborn in the well side. You know for a fact the mom’s going to freak-out you can tell by the way she’s giving you the evil eye.
  2. You hate when it’s cold out. PERIOD. You know as soon as it gets cold out, well your kids going to be sick and coughing A LOT. Coughing will stop when it’s just about time to pull out the bathing suits.
  3. You travel with Purelle and wipes at all times, hoping to not get your child sick. You avoid large gatherings because of this.
  4. You schedule surgery, knowing 9 times out of 10 you will need to reschedule because by the time that date comes, your kiddo will be sick again.
  5. You know what NICU or PICU soap smells like, and you can still smell it if you close your eyes.
  6. You probably didn’t get the new baby experience you had been hoping for. 🙁 Instead you got NICU’s and Surgeons. And big words you couldn’t pronounce.
  7. You think your child is the MOST AMAZING, STRONGEST Kid the world has ever seen. And they are! 🙂
  8. You would take away all the sickness, surgeries, hospital test, doctor’s appointments if you could.
  9. You can recite ALL your child’s medical issues (a whole page of them), medicines and doses, previous surgery dates and hospitalizations, any doctor you’ve ever taken them too. Yet, when you go to your doctor you can’t remember what dose of medicine you take!”It is the little purple pill” LOL
  10. Your cupboard or fridge looks like a pharmacy.
  11. You are thrilled when your kid falls down riding a bike without training wheels, because being on a bike alone, means you’ve made it! Seeing your kiddo eat pizza and have some popcorn at a movie makes your heart happy! As these are all things you NEVER thought they would do when they were born.
  12. You call your doctor and they know your voice and greet you by name.
  13. You’re tired of people looking at your kid (who appears completely healthy on the outside) and then trying to convince them that all the health problems are real and VERY serious. Not imagined. It’s like you have to plead with the doctors and people to look beyond what they initially see.  That even though they seem healthy on the outside, there is more going on internally then they can wrap their minds around. So if they give your kid that jolly rancher you’re going to hunt them down….
  14. You know your kid better than ANY Doctor. If you say they are sick, well then they are. You may just see it a day or two before they do.
  15. You believe in miracles, because you live with one.

No Capes Required

Christine ends the list with these words. “This is our story. No capes required.”

Maybe no cape is required, but nonetheless, the Lesters and all other EA/TEF parents have earned capes. So wear your superparent and superkid capes with pride. If you want to meet more parents like you, visit the EA TEF Bridging the Gap group on Facebook.

Which Ones Described You?

Which items on today’s list described you or your child. Leave a comment about the numbers that made you smile. (My smilers were numbers 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, and 15) And if you have more to add to the list, leave a comment about that, too.

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