My daughter with SMA, Ella, has a knack for making friends. She naturally draws people to her and always finds the good in them. Last week, Ella’s older brother, Henry, and her older sister, Ava, both had friends over at the house. Although Ella was…
Five Servings of Strength
— Michael Casten
Michael is married and a father of three, one being a child with SMA Type II (born in June, 2011). He is an educator who has worked directly with children and their families since 1994. He loves his family, writing, working with his hands, and taking road trips. Michael holds a bachelor’s in psychology (1994) and a master’s in education (2001).
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Ella, 10, the youngest of our three children, is thriving. She has friends from school, in the neighborhood, and online. She sings in a community choir, and occasionally plays with her siblings. Due to Ella’s disease, spinal muscular atrophy type 2, which directly affects her respiratory…
The house is full of chatter while our kids — Ava, 13, Henry, 11, and Ella, 10 — talk to each other and play video games. The doorbell rings as one of Henry’s friends arrives. Henry puts his shoes on and is out the door,…
As the fall approaches, we are getting ready for school and extracurricular activities. All of our kids — Ava, 13, Henry, 11, and Ella, 10 — are musically gifted. Ava has played the violin since she was in fourth grade. She takes lessons privately through the…
Ella will be entering fifth grade this fall. We opted for the online learning model at school, but right after we submitted our request, school officials announced that the entire district would be doing online learning. We were relieved that Ella will be in…
The time finally came for our family to make a decision about the type of schooling our children would choose this fall. The school district had offered two choices: a hybrid model in which students would attend in person two or three days…
The day boasted a brilliant sun. The warm winds blew through the trees and white, fluffy clouds adorned the sky. We packed up our car, loaded our two dogs, Ginny and Radcliffe, into the van, and headed out. We were on our way to Grandma and Grandpa’s house…
School will start in a month or so, and Ella will be entering fifth grade, while her brother, Henry, starts sixth grade, and her sister, Ava, starts eighth grade. The local school system is presenting families with two options for this year. The first is…
Ella is 10 and will start fifth grade this fall. She has “magic” adjustable rods in her back that give her height. But she has exhausted the length of the rod and will need a new one put in soon. She weighs 36 pounds, a dramatic drop…
The Castens are a family of five: Mom (Lindsay), Dad (Michael), and three kids (Ava, Henry, and Ella). Ava is 13, Henry is 11, and Ella is 10. We have two dogs and a bunny. I am a full-time elementary school teacher and have been working…
Ella just finished fourth grade and will be entering her last year at elementary school in the fall. She loved fourth grade and learned so much. She’s a bit nervous for fifth grade, but she’s up to the challenge. Ella has been at the same…
Ella loves the outdoors. As summer begins in our area, the warm weather follows, with shorts and short-sleeved shirts the preferred attire. But spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) presents some challenges for Ella as she plays outdoors. One challenge is getting herself outside. She has two options.
Ella had a special day last Wednesday. On June 10, she celebrated her 10th birthday. Ella turned double digits on her golden birthday. Naturally, she was excited for the day, but had no idea what was in store. I got her out of…
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