This blog is written by Tangi, Morgan Stewart’s mother.
As a mother of three children and one having extraordinary needs, my household benefits tremendously by having a caregiver for my 14-year-old son Morgan. Morgan has spinal muscular atrophy (SMA type 2) and is medically fragile.
Sometimes, I’m burned out mentally and physically but I have been blessed to have a few wonderful and caring caregivers to assist me with the challenges that come with caring for a child with special needs.
Morgan’s caregivers physically assist him in his activities of daily living and engage with him just like they’re a part of our family. They attend events and celebrate birthdays with us and sometimes bring their families along for the fun. Knowing that I can depend on someone to care for my son the way I would makes me feel at ease when I’m away.
Sometimes they’ll come to the house and say to me “Just rest. I have him and don’t be bothering us. I’ll be outside with Morgan.” My helping nurses know I have a tendency of being too hands on. So, they encourage me to relax and allow them to handle certain situations.
My son has about four nurses that take him to high school during the week. It took some time to get nurses Monday through Friday but we now have a steady four to accompany Morgan to school . These wonderful nurses do whatever it takes to make sure he doesn’t miss school if they can help it. Sharing our world with the wonderful caregivers/nurses we have been highly blessed with has been a pleasure. I thank them from the bottom of my heart and soul.