Protecting my Cub

I posted earlier this week about how my blog was picked up on an AllDeaf.Com message board. My family, my journey, and my son were completely misrepresented. My choices were judged. My family was criticized. And I had no idea it was going on.

So, I visited the board, corrected the mistakes, and made amends with the original poster. She actually is a very sweet girl, who has been implanted, and I've checked out her blog a couple of times.

I know that having this blog means that complete strangers will view it, and I am completely ok with that. I know that many parents of newly diagnosed kids with hearing loss visit this site, and I am so glad that my experiences can be a resource for them. This blog has allowed me to connect with an amazing group of parents who I view as one of my top resources and support systems throughout our journey with Christian. We share our ups, downs, good days, and bad days with our D/HOH kiddos. These parents are a very important part in our support system.

The whole experience on AllDeaf.com shook me to my bones. I'm not Deaf. Not a day goes by where I don't wish that I was Deaf so I could know what my boy is dealing with. I just was so shocked to see complete strangers in a community that I am so desperately trying to learn more about could just pass judgment about a family and a little boy that they don't even know. It made me sick to my stomach. It made me so sad for Christian. It made me think about Christian's future....is this what he is going to be facing in his life? Will he be forever judged?

Then, I looked back at my letters, my emails, and my blog comments from the dozens of parents and families that I have connected with this past year. Not all of us have the same communication methods or degree of hearing loss. However, we all have a mutual respect for our children and each other. We all support each other, regardless if our kids are aided, implanted, or not. These are the type of people that my family needs in our life. We need the positivity right now.