L I V I N G
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Autism & Epilepsy T H E I N S P I R A T I O N B E H I N D S P E C I A L N E E D S L I V I N G M A G A Z I N E By Hannah Wagner
Justin, Jamie, Jaylin, Jordan and Jade
Family photo – Justin, Jamie, Jordan, Jaylin, Jade
It’s with tears of happiness that I can share Jordan’s story with you in honor of his 9th birthday. Thank you to my dear friend Hannah Wagner for taking the time to interview me and write our story. It has been a glorious nine years, we are miles further than I ever thought possible in his special needs journey, and we know there will be many more milestones to come. I hope sharing our journey will have an impact on you, or bless someone you know.
see the world through your eyes. I hope they can feel the empathy and compassion that I felt for you as you opened up and shared your pain with me. And I hope that you will be able to see yourself from a new perspective, too, one where you know beyond a shadow of a doubt the incredible mother that you are.
We will never give up fighting for you, buddy! You’re such a blessing in our life!
We’re sitting by the water at Eagle Creek Park, and I start by asking you to tell me about the very beginning. How was your pregnancy? How was his birth? You tell me that the pregnancy was normal, that you trusted the process and the doctors. For example, you got the flu shot because you were told by your doctor that if you didn’t, you would risk harming your baby. This was, of course, the last thing you wanted. So you were compliant, despite having been given no specific pros and cons with which to weigh both sides of the question and reach your decision, something that you now wish would have been clearly expressed. But at the time that was ok with you, because that’s what doctors are for, right? To guide you where they know best.
A letter from one mother to another Told by Jamie McCabe to Hannah Wagner Jamie, I’ve thought a lot about how to write this and I’d like to do things a bit differently than I usually would when writing a story about someone’s life. Writing in the third person seems too impersonal. I want your life and Jordan’s story to become very personal and real to others, even if it’s only while they read these words. For that reason, I will be writing directly to you. I hope that people can put themselves in your shoes, feel the things you’ve felt, and
34 Special Needs Living • November 2021
A traumatic birth
As you approached your due date, your doctor brought up being induced. She told you that many women decide to go this route
