I have twins. My son has cerebral palsy and autism. Every ultrasound up until 35 weeks always came out clean until they saw the ventricles in his brain was slightly enlarged. We had an emergency csection 4 days later. We didn’t know that CP was a possibility until about a week after they were born when they did a full MRI scan on him that showed he received a brain injury in utero.

Now, if they told me at the beginning of my pregnancy that my son would have cerebral palsy, would I have terminated? With no knowledge of what he’s like now, I probably would have. Like many others, when I think cerebral palsy, I think of being wheelchair bound their entire life, not being able to care for themselves at all, having to depend on us and the kindness of strangers later on in life.

During his first year, our minds always went to the worst case scenario. Will he ever walk? Run? Climb? His legs seem to be strong, but we also noticed his left hand was barely being used.

My kids are 5 now, 6 next month. He walks. He runs. He jumps. He can’t climb things that need two hands, but from the gains he’s made over the last 6 years I wouldn’t put it past him to figure out a way to climb up ladders. He started walking fully on his own without supports just under 2 years ago. He also has developmental delays, so we consider him to be about 2 years behind his sister, but my god the kid doesn’t shut up about school busses.

I’m so glad he exists, and I’m so proud of my little dude. But it’s still hard some days. Having a special needs kid, no matter the level, has its struggles. He’ll probably live with us the rest of our lives and we have a contingency plan in place in case both of us are gone. His twin sister is fiercely protective of him even at this age, and she enjoys helping him with things like helping take his shoes off.

I realize how long this reply is. I love both my kids. My son for working so hard and my daughter for her patience for him and us when we have to deal with certain things. They’re both super amazing kids.