Life with Super D is my way of sharing the struggles, victories and setbacks we experience as we walk through the challenges associated with raising a child with special needs. My desire is to provide an honest, open look into our life in order to provide some hope and encouragement to other families walking a similar path. To those who seek to understand what life is like in our situation, I hope to provide some insight into the joy, pain and daily struggles that come with raising a child with special needs.

I hope you will subscribe and join us in our life with Super D.

People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” – Luke 18:15-17

I took this picture of Daniel several years ago as we were preparing to go trick or treating. It is one of my favorite pictures of Daniel and where the nickname Super D came from.

Daniel is a super hero in my book. At 5 years old, he has endured more than most adults. From spinal taps, to spending multiple days hooked up to an EEG, to the nursing students who tried for an hour to draw blood, this little boy has been put through hell in an attempt to control the seizures. Yet he endures.

The medicine and the seizures have taken my little boy from me. There was a period early on where he never smiled. Even now, smiles are few and far between. Moments of clarity bring great strides in his speech and development, only to be wiped out the next bad seizure day. Yet he endures.

I heard him laugh a couple of weeks ago. That was the first time we had heard a real laugh in over a year. I don’t know if he doesn’t find joy in things or if the seizures and medicine won’t let him. Yet he endures.

He was diagnosed with autism. Crowds are overwhelming for him. The sensory issues keep him from being able to walk and hold our hands. He gets overwhelmed and throws himself down. We have a wheelchair to provide some comfort for him while we out. So he flaps, kicks and grabs at things. Or he is calm and sucks his thumb. People stare and cast judgemental glances. I brace myself for their sharp tongue, which, thankfully, has not come, and try not scream at them to mind their own business. Yet he endures.

The behavior issues caused by the seizures and the seizure medicine often leave Super D going from one thing to another, making a mess and getting into things. I pray for God’s grace and His guidance as I chase him around the house. As soon as one mess is clean, he has created another. Before long I lose my vertical focus and my patience. Yet he endures.

If Daniel isn’t a super hero, I don’t know what one is.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who fives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. –  James 1:2-5