When my husband, Randy, and I decided to expand our family, I promptly became pregnant … and miscarried. Optimists, we tried again. And again. Meanwhile, we returned to school for teacher certification and accepted teaching assignments in Columbia, South Carolina. We were blessed the following summer with…
We're Not in Kansas Anymore - a Column by Helen Baldwin
What seems a lifetime ago, my husband, Randy, and I decided to return to school for our teacher certifications. After quitting our joint job at a residential facility for at-risk teens, Randy went first. To pay the bills, I applied to be a substitute teacher. I requested…
Deciding on a column topic isn’t always a simple matter. Sometimes, I’m shoved into a new direction with a thud. Other times, the nudge is light as a feather. In this case, it was a feather. Angelic intervention. A gift of love Many years ago my…
If our daughter, Katie, had arrived on her due date, I’d be writing about her birthday instead of her decision to hold off a few days — eight, to be precise, but who’s counting? I’ll tell you who was counting back then — I was. I was…
Like most families broadsided with an unexpected, rare diagnosis, my husband and I had never heard of the one attached to Jeffrey, our third baby. Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) was completely foreign to us, so it came as another shock to learn that SMA was the leading…
Keeping up with the calendars around here can be dizzying. One desk calendar is reserved for scheduling jobs for our small carpet-cleaning business. Reminders to do one thing or a hundred dot almost every square on another. We have a reservation book for our cabin and a…
I’m writing this on June 29, the 13th anniversary of my father’s death. Remembering Dad today is impossible without including Jeffrey in my thoughts. Following his death, our family was reassured by one sign in particular that he had wasted no time in reuniting with…
We had no reason to doubt that our third baby, Jeffrey, would be healthy. Our other children, Matthew and Katie, were in good health, and any known “premature” deaths in our families were attributed to miscarriage. And then SMA entered the picture. We said hello and goodbye…
The past two and a half years have seen a whirlwind of celebration in the world of SMA. What I consider one of the best gifts possible for families arrived on Dec. 23, 2016 when, for the first time ever, the FDA gave its approval to an SMA…
Our old farmhouse has one bathroom and not much square footage. In the fall of 1996, it was already a cozy fit for two adults, two kids (ages 10 and 7), and two furry mutts. Then we learned we’d be adding a newborn. Rather than fret over the…
