Introspection

Today I realized something that while I knew intellectually, didn't quite sink in. My daughter will always be deaf. She will be a deaf woman, a deaf mother, a deaf professional. While I pray it won't define her, it will certainly impact her in ways I can not even imagine.

How will she hear her child when he/she cries? What will I do when she is bullied? How will I be sure that I both get her the help she needs, yet not allow her to use her impairment as a crutch/ excuse?

And while most of my posts so far have been about Mckenna's hearing loss, I worry too about my oldest. How do I ensure that she knows that just because her sister takes more time, doesn't mean she has more love? How do I be certain she knows that her life does not revolve around her sister's hearing loss, while still being sure she watches out for and protects her sister? Will she come to resent her sister for the extra time she took?

The last 8 months I guess I have been so focused on the sprint to implantation, I did not REALLY recognize the long distance run that is having a child with hearing loss/ cochlear implants.