Linda Washburn
I am a single parent of a handicapped son with inoperable brain cancer. He is 34 yrs old, mentally 3-5, looks like a small cute 12 yr. old boy. I was just diagnosed with PH in 2007 but I suspect I have had this for years.
My son Shane was born with brain cancer and no Doctor has ever heard of a case like his, born with brain cancer and still living 33 years later. He is a miracle and now I am hoping for another miracle for my PAH.
I love to craft and was in 10 stores in a 10 year period and also sold on eBay for 7 yrs. I design Victorian items, florals, paint, sew pillows, sachets, mosaics, and too many things to mention.
On my good days I am bursting with energy and I try to create and design as much as possible for as long as I can in between taking care of my son. On bad days with my heart acting up and dizzy spells and not breathing well I get done what I have to and then rest. My son needs help with bathing, dressing, feeding, diapering, medication etc. He is in a wheelchair and unable to do anything for himself. With my ph problems and shortness of breath I am unable to lift him anymore so I use a hoyer lift to transport him from his wheelchair to his bed.
Even though I have also been diagnosed with a terrible disease and my son being blind with brain cancer, seizures, mentally impaired and in diapers and a wheelchair I still feel blessed in so many ways. My son has given me so much joy and he has been such an inspiration to me. He has had 12 surgerys, has been in intensive care 4 times, had 2 leg surgerys and a gall bladder operation. I also have had 12 surgerys. I have arthritis, fibromyalgia, severe acid reflux disease, 2 bad heart valves, enlarged heart ventricle, tachardia, irritable bowel syndrome, migraine headaches and now the big PH.
So many people tell me that they could not have done what I did. Well, I tell them he's not your son either. When my son turned 18 I had the option to put him in a home and to me there was no option. He is my son, I love him and felt no one would take better care of him or love him more and in those homes he could have been abused so I went to court and got legal guardianship of him as an adult. He cannot stand up for his rights or speak for himself so I fight for him. I even wore a sandwich sign once and pushed his wheelchair in front of a school. (That's another story)
People are always asking me why I haven't lost it yet and how can I be so strong and I tell them that my strength comes from within me. A powerful feeling that only a mother can feel. I am a fighter and my motto has always been: never say can't! How do you know you can't until you try and try again! I was the oldest of 6 kids and my parents got a divorce and my mom had to go to work so I instantly became a mom, father, big sister, cook, housekeeper etc. and I had to be strong. I have to be strong now too because who would take care of my son or myself if I became weak?
When I design and create things I am in my own little world. It's such a refreshing respite to me and so much fun.
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