Skip to main content

A Sibling Story: Highlighted by Lawson Luckie (UGA/ESPN): my perspective.

I've watched this over and over. This is Lawson's story, but his story is a sibling's story.
I've said for years that siblings are the heroes in these special stories. They live in a deep shadow most days of their childhood. They choose the shadow as adults. A shadow they love for a person who takes priority in time, space, and attention. They hear "hold on a minute" more times than fair. Siblings live in homes where the need for responsibility and priorities exceed their age. They do it with a quiet love that is unconditional. And, they are their siblings biggest cheerleaders and motivation. They show up.
Siblings have an understanding of Life, each breath being a gift. Sacred and cherished. As Lawson said, which broke my heart, a Life he didn't know if he would see after he walked out a door some days. Siblings witness the fragility of Life. It is not my place to try and tell Knox and Walker's journey with Ivey. I can only tell this journey from my path as her mom, their mom. Nevertheless, Matt and I have loved every hard second watching them thrive in this amazing world with their sister. They have sacrificed. They come home for her.
Seeing Knox and Walker as adults love their sister in a new way - as adults - has been a tale of times. A love story can be more, and should be more, than the one most often told. Siblings of brothers and sisters with disabilities, especially complex medical siblings, have the most magnificent love story. Rare diagnosis’. Feeding pumps, seizures, wheelchairs, suctioning, surgeries, middle of the night emergencies needing all hands on deck, ER's, and hospital stays - the language of the nonverbal and Deafblind. Homes are miniature hospitals and therapy clinics. Even family cars are makeshift ambulances. Forever enduring hard public stares, comments, and diverting of eyes. They embrace the freedom in being different and making people uncomfortable. Courage or courageous? In a world that spins on "fitting in", they are exceptional in being unafraid to have pride in all of these things. To love the dandelions.
If you know a sibling or are their family or a friend and watch this video and feel an emotional wave - you also personally know angels on earth (Her angles. Hand molded by God, just for Ivey) - Lawson's story isn't a special story told from afar - it touches you because you witness it in glimpses in your own life by knowing them. You are blessed. If you are one of the blessed to be loved by Knox and Walker- it is a special love and they chose you wisely. Without knowing, they have tested you. Can you accept her- unconditionally? To be in their world, you will be in hers. Their sacred friendships have all been founded on a foundation and the ability to accept and love their sister. This stems from an inate instinct to protect her. Matt and I have watched the boys forge frienships firsthand, Ivey is to be part of that friendship. If you are a friend, you are in a sacred circle.
God gave us siblings of those with special needs to teach us unconditional love, compassion, selflessness, loyalty, and how to overcome fear in spite of it, because of it. My boys are amazing creatures. I am so proud of the humans they have become.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

And Sometimes Feeding Your Kiddo Looks Like This...

A simple sentence. No one said it to me in the beginning, but boy did that tube cause a lot of chaos. The NG tube graduated to the G-tube which morphed to a GJ- tube…. A brief history of Ivey's feeding tubes: *The NG tube was in place the first time I ever saw my daughter in the NICU.  My only memory of her without a feeding tube is them placing her in my arms immediately following her birth. *The G-tube, well, that is a story within itself.  That decision did not come lightly.  Another hole in her.  Another decision on our plate, but not really on our plate, it was apparent it was a medical necessity for her survival.  Literally to give her a chance to live.  A permanent decision.  A 5am panic attack in the Scottish Rite elevator that happened to coincide with Dr. Meyers arriving at the hospital at the same time as me.... Our intersection in the elevator set the stage for the years to follow. From that point on, he knew I was a little nuts and a lot...
Post a Comment
Read more

BEAUTIFUL GREEN EYES........

56 comments
Read more

Sibling Secret Sauce

Siblings of kiddos with disabilities are amazing humans walking amongst us. They live a life, most often, in the shadows of their sibling who simply needs "more". More time. More direct attention. More of more. We have now come to a fork in our road. Our boys are young men, and, our daughter is a young lady. I'll be honest, I was uncertain what life would look like once the boys left this home, once they had their own time, in their own personal sunshine. We found out quickly once Knox left for college his freshman year what that would look like. And then, when Walker left, we knew what life would feel like in their absence. There was too much space. Ivey felt it. We get many compliments about the relationship the boys and Ivey have with one another. Hints here and there that, maybe, Matt and I had some secret recipe to parenting a household with a child that is very medically complex and a very complex communicator. This is what I can tell you - there is no re...
Post a Comment
Read more