WHILE I watched the Prime Minister declare that he was blessed to have two healthy children I could not help but agree.

Having a healthy family is a privilege and one that should be recognised as something to celebrate.

In Australia many children of a variety of abilities are able to live good and productive lives, yet some will never walk, kick a football, become independent, climb a mountain or even go to school.

While some took aim at the Prime Minister for recognising that his family was not facing the many and difficult challenges that families with children with disabilities do – I was personally horrified.

Who would actually wish for their child to suffer a disease like cancer?

I know that Dylan Alcott has managed to excel despite his circumstances – but this is not true for many individuals.

Some families of children with disabilities suffer stress, and mental illness due to the difficulties that they face on their journeys.

When women are pregnant they are often asked “What do you want?”

For me the answer was a healthy and happy child.

I know that I would have given anything to have had that healthy and happy child that I wished for when I was pregnant, yet it was not to be.

I had a child that spent years as a frequent flyer in hospital.

One that we put through countless traumatic procedures, and yes we are the lucky ones – that child is alive.

And yes that child is now grown up and has a good life.

Yet, I and my family would have been truly blessed had we never endured this journey.

The endless nights in hospital with the incessant machines that beep.

The stress of waiting for test results, only to find that your child needs one more scan, one more needle, an addition to the medication regime, another operation.

To hear the Prime Minister criticised for saying that his family is blessed for not enduring this type of life to me is abhorrent.

No one would want to walk a mile in my family’s shoes.

No one should be happy to have to say goodbye to their child as they enter the operating theatre over and over again.

No one would choose to live with a lifetime of health issues and concerns that can impact quality of life at the drop of the hat.

While my child doesn’t have an obvious disability no one would wish for a child that will have to live with a visible disability if they could choose to have a child that did not have to be different.

We all know children can be cruel – differences give bullies opportunities – yet another hurdle to overcome.

For many of the children that are frequent flyers in the health system there are excellent outcomes but this is not true for all.

To me it is an undeniable blessing to have a healthy child.

I wouldn’t wish the journey my child faced on anyone – yet it does make the highs higher and the celebrations richer – simply because he made it.

 

By a PORT STEPHENS MOTHER