I remember that...

Last night in a support group a mother expressed her worry about her baby.  He is 15 months old and facing another surgery.  The baby is so similar to my son.  I remember those worries.  There are worries about the surgery itself.  Handing my baby to the nurse who would be taking my son back to surgery got harder with every surgery.  Learning about his condition and thinking, "Oh, how can this be!  How is he going to deal with this?" was heartbreaking and overwhelming.  I couldn't picture his future without crying, and then to be up against a surgery that if it didn't go well would rob him of a future at all!  So when I read this mother's concerns, I was taken back to those moments and I felt so grateful to be 8 years away from them.  I let her know what a 9 year old boy with this rare condition can do.  None of his friends even know he has a condition.  He has rough days and those days are still heartbreaking.  The condition is life-long so it is what it is.  What seemed insurmountable 8 years ago, is just life now.  I shared with this mother about my son's daily routine, but I also let her know that he has friends, plays sports, does well in school, and does regular boy things.  Then this mom responded, "Thank you.  I guess I just want him to have a 'normal' life and a great group of friends."