 Guest author, Divya Goel, shares her journey to self-advocacy and living her dreams as a young woman with Usher syndrome.
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by Nilam Agrawal  I wrote this poem in May, 2012 when my daughter was 2 1/2 years old. She was acutely sick with H1N1 and had to be intubated. She went from being a sighted child, to suddenly losing all of her vision in both her eyes (she started losing her hearing 6 months before that due to an episode of high fever). For 3 long weeks she was in a world of total darkness and total silence. Then, she began to see in low lights and regain some of her hearing. That episode was a new turn in our journey. My husband and I were hurting and nervous. She was scared and lost. We had no idea what help we needed or how to support her. I wondered, if she could say what she was feeling, what would she say? I wrote this poem to help me find a purpose and find something to hold on to when I was struggling to even breathe. For the next 5 years, we went through two different medical (‘mis)-diagnosis before receiving the correct diagnosis of Usher syndrome for both our kids in December 2017 (a decades-long medical journey that started with our older son in 2007).
 If someone had told me six months ago that I would be leaving a job I loved, I would have thought that was crazy. Those who know me well know how much I love my job. It's been rewarding to participate in COVID-specific special education research, and I know that the work has helped many and that my contributions have been valuable. But for the reasons I explain below, I need to make a change. I'm excited to have more time to focus on myself, my family, and deafblind research and family support.
 September 19 is Usher Syndrome Awareness Day. It’s always a day that causes me to reflect on all that I am thankful for.
 As a research analyst at the Center on Reinventing Public Education, I've researched school/district response to the pandemic. I've interviewed many parents who have children with disabilities over the last six months about their experiences, and most recently, I've been tracking school reopening plans.
 I was asked to share my experiences and perspectives about remote learning for children who are deafblind, like my son Dalton.
I was asked to share my experiences and perspectives about remote learning for children who are deafblind, like my son Dalton.
 Being Conner’s mom is such a joy for me. He has overcome huge obstacles and works so hard to achieve his goals.
 Today I started the day in tears in my car, a reminder of the long emotional few weeks our family has been through.
 Usher syndrome has taught me so much. We have good days and days that challenge us. This week has been filled with challenges.
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AuthorLanya (Lane) McKittrick is the Chair of the Board of the Usher Syndrome Coalition, founder of the Hear See Hope Foundation, and deafblind education researcher and founder of Lane of Inquiry. Lane received her PhD in Special Education at the University of Northern Colorado. Her research, advocacy and family support work are rooted in her personal experience as a mom to four sons, including two who have Usher Syndrome, the leading genetic cause of deafblindness. Archives
June 2021
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