This is Aubree: A Disabled Daughter Story

This is Aubree.

She was delivered on the 11^th of November, 2012, at 7:02pm via an emergency C-section, after a 52 hour labour in which she suffered a lack of sufficient oxygen and blood supply to her brain. This caused extensive damage, known as Hypoxic Ischaemic Encephalopathy.

She didn’t meet her milestones and at 14 months old, we were told she would never walk or talk, would never be more than she was then.

Since then, she has undergone countless tests, MRI scans, genetic testing and the like. She has weekly physiotherapy and occupational therapy appointments and has improved by leaps and bounds.

Her official diagnosis is Bilateral Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy GMFCS III-IV. She is globally developmentally delayed, has absence seizures, aspirates fluids and is visually impaired. She is unable to speak, stand, walk, or feed herself, but she has made our lives better by simply existing.

Nothing will ever prepare you for parenthood, much less parenting a disabled child, but nothing can prepare you for the overwhelming love you have for them either, it’s beyond humbling.