The Beginning.

Welcome to Turtle's blog. Well its really not her blog but it's all about one of the most fantastic people someone could ever have the pleasure of knowing.

My oldest daughter Casey.

Casey was born on Wednesday, April 8th 1992 at 9:38 pm. I still remember that day like it was yesterday. She was such a beautiful baby, with stunning blue eyes that twinkled when she would smile and about glittered when she laughed. I had so many hopes and dreams for her from the moment I first held her in my arms.

She was such a joy . Her laugh even as a baby and young child was contagious. Hearing her laugh would make you smile and laugh.

This obviously isn't a baby picture of her but this is my Turtle..

Little did I know when Casey was born that she had a potentially life threatening disease. I found out about her Muscular Dystrophy in May of 1993. She was only 13 months old. The doctors opinions differed so much. Some gave her grim outcomes full of no hope.Others wouldnt really comment since Muscular Dystrophy in girls was and is not as common as it is typically found in boys and could only offer speculations.

My dreams for her changed that day. That day in June when all the tests came back my hopes and dreams changed. The doctors had set up a challenge and we were up for it. We had no other choices that were acceptable.

I set out to help Casey prove the doctors wrong. They told me she would probably never live to be a teenager. They told me she would never be able to feed herself. She would never brush her own hair or teeth. That she would never be able to sit up , roll over , crawl and would never ever walk.

The doctors thought they knew everything based on some tests. In reality they didnt know Casey or I very well. They didnt know I would do everything in my power to prove them wrong. They never took into account what the power of love and faith could do. Faith and love alone can move mountains.

I encouraged her to reach her dreams and go after what she wanted.

Literally.

I knew that if someone wants something bad enough in life they will push themselves to achieve their goals. When Casey got her diagnosis I refused to believe that she would never do anything. I would intentionally set a toy just out of her reach and encourage her to go get it.

Don't think I was being cruel, I was encouraging my daughter to reach her potential and not to be afraid to go after life.

Within a few months of her diagnosis Casey was sitting up totally on her own unassisted. She was rolling over to get to what she wanted and army crawling. 

I was so proud of her for her accomplishments already. She was showing a glimpse of who she would become. An amazing young woman who wouldn't let her disabilities get in the way of her living life.