I'm a proud New Yorker! I was born and raised in Bronx, New York, USA. My mom's side of the family is Puerto Rican and my father's side is Ecuadorian (which makes for an interesting mix). I have a sister who is nearly 9 years younger than me and I have a half-brother who is nearly 12 years younger than me. Since my childhood was kind of rocky (parents divorced and my mom had to work a lot), I learned from an early age that I needed to be self-reliant. This is not a bad thing, especially considering all the challenges I have now!
I learned to be responsible: go to school every day, do my homework, go to church and seminary on a regular basis, and not let myself get "sucked in" by the wrong crowd or their bad habits. I know very few people from New York who can say they've never taken a drink or tried drugs - in their lifetime! I've always felt very fortunate that I was able to maintain my focus and prepare myself for the future. I enjoyed many extra curricular activities, such as the school choir, track team, science bowl team, writing club and I wrote poetry (just for myself). I guess when you're growing up in the Bronx, you need to do something productive with your time or else you end up doing "not-so-productive" things (also, it pays to have a grandma that's always on your back! lol). Since I attended a vocational high school, I was able to graduate as a Certified Medical Assistant.
Once high school was over, I left New York and headed for Salt Lake City, Utah, nearly 2,000 miles away! I didn't know anyone there. I didn't have any friends or family - it was just me (now you're thinking I'm insane, right?). Believe it or not, it was always my dream to attend college in Utah or perhaps live here, and I'm so happy I was able to do both! I attended the University of Utah and I met some amazing people who, till this day, are still friends of mine. I had such a wonderful and positive experience. I did a lot of growing up and I figured out who I really wanted to be and do with my life. Which leads me to....
My Present
I met a wonderful man at college (cheesy love music in the background). Despite the fact that it took us six months to get together, we were instantly drawn to each other and we shared a lot of the same interests. For instance, we both love Swing dancing! A friend of mine used to run a swing club at the university, and every week we'd go there to dance and hang out. My (soon to be) husband and I met at this club and dancing was a big part of our lives. We'd go to the Swing club every week and we'd try to go Latin dancing almost every week too! After 6 months of dancing and dating, we got engaged. Four months later, we were married and ready to start our new lives together! We decided to stay living in Utah and raise a family.
Fast forward four years later and our daughter 'Beauty' was born. Another two years later (almost exactly) and our son 'Macho' was born. This is where our lives got a lot more complicated/ difficult/ interesting/ expensive/ confusing and downright HARD! About four months after my son's birth, we confirmed an autism diagnosis for our daughter. Words cannot express the whirlwind of emotions I felt once I found out (though, I try to explain it in this blog post). It took a long time for me to accept the diagnosis. To even say the words "My daughter has autism" took me almost a year to say without cringing! It was very difficult. New lingo and therapies entered my life, new programs and people, and though I felt so vulnerable, a surge of strength ran through me that till this day is still with me.
My daughter is five years old now, and though it's been three years since the diagnosis, I still have that strength and passion to do everything I can for my child. I still research new therapies and techniques, I still work with her on a daily basis, and I still love her with all my heart. Autism has not changed how I feel about her, it has actually made me love her more and be grateful for even the smallest advances she makes. My son, who's three years old now, also shows a lot of signs that he too needs help. I'm currently fighting with the "medical professionals" to get him an official diagnosis so I can finally begin the process of enrolling him in school and getting him the proper attention he needs.
Though our children have struggles, my husband and I have struggles of our own. My husband was born with ADD and still struggles with it today. Though he's found a medication to help offset some of the side effects, it doesn't take care of everything. There are still many things he struggles with, and part of my job is to help him with those struggles. However, I have an ailment of my own that inhibits me as well. I have Fibromyalgia, and for those that don't know what that is, it's a nerve disorder that causes fatigue and muscle pain. For more details, you can read my post about it. Our family has quite a medical history, huh? Despite our challenges, however, there's a lot of love here. Without that love and support, there's no way we could've survived this long! I'm so grateful for my husband and my kids!
My Future
I have high hopes for the future. This doesn't mean I expect it to be easy. Nothing in my life has come easily and probably nothing ever will. What I do know for sure: my husband and kids are my life and they always will be. I'll never stop fighting for my children. I know that my daughter is going to surprise me; I can't wait to see how many new things she accomplishes! Thanks to the knowledge I gained with her, I can apply that knowledge to my son's dilemmas and do my best to help him. Though his troubles are different than his sister's, I will figure it out because that's what moms do. My son will thrive and succeed in life, and I'm anxious to see how it unfolds. Through it all, I know I will continue to have the love and support of my husband. He loves his children, he loves me, and I love him with all that I have. So long as I don't give up, so long as I don't allow trials and struggles to hold me down, I know I can do all that is expected of me as a special-needs parent!
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| Old Family Christmas Photo '08 |
