31 Days of SMA: Jennifer Perkins

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by Kevin Schaefer |

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Day 13 of 31 Days SMA Topic: Being a Mother with SMA This is Jennifer Perkins’ story: My life was forever changed on June 27th, 2018, the day our son was born. Although planned, it was a very exciting, scary, joyful, anxious day. We had just become parents! Levi Perkins was born a healthy baby boy at 5 lb 15 oz. He is not affected by SMA and we are unsure if he is a carrier of the gene. I have SMA type 3 and use a wheelchair full time. While I didn’t know many women with SMA that were mothers, I did reach out to the ones I knew for advice. They offered suggestions and products that could make motherhood a little easier while in a wheelchair. However, our strengths were different, so we had to take it day by day to overcome the challenges we met. I found out early on that I could not change a diaper without help. My husband does the majority of the diaper changes. I used a Boppy pillow to carry Levi around when he was little. Throughout the two years, I have had to use trial and error to find the right items to make my day-to-day life a little easier with a toddler. Levi has quickly adapted to my abilities. Before he could climb, he would stand on my footplate so I could carry him around the house. Now that he can walk and climb, he has learned how to climb into my lap and buckle us into the chair. He will tell dada when he wants me to sit on the couch, knowing I can not transfer on my own. If you want to know more about motherhood in a wheelchair or about my pregnancy, please follow my Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC23te9fGWQzV6l7BQhhoZ4g?view_as=subscriber #SMAAwarenessMonth #SMAAwareness #31daysofsma2020

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