Member-only story
Graduation
Getting My Child Through Pre-School as a Disabled Mom
I spent four years trying to act like I was like all of the other Moms. Still, so much of my identity was tied to the fact I was disabled. I felt the need to explain to everyone I met why I limped and carried a cane as a young woman. I assumed I looked so impaired it was what people were wondering about when they met me. At the end of the four years, I found out maybe my disability wasn’t as glaring as I thought.
It seemed when I introduced myself to the moms I met at my son’s preschool, I would always say something like, “My name is Victoria and I had a stroke while I was pregnant with my son who is in your child’s class.” People said some interesting things in response such as “You’re kidding!” When they realized it definitely was not a joke, they were aghast.
Many were quite freaked out to hear that I had been 35 years old, 26 weeks pregnant, had a two year old, and woke up one day completely paralyzed on my left side. I was just like them except for this major fact.
We all had two year olds enrolled in preschool. I was allowed to park in the reserved handicapped parking spaces in the school lot. They could carry their children into school or walk with them and hold their hand. I could not. They could run out to their car and back in if they forgot…
