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Mom
My mom is the emotional backbone of the family. She is the one who kissed my booboos when I fell off my bike, my number one fan, my ultimate supporter, the only person whose
smile brightens my entire day. She gave me life. She is all I could ever ask for in a mother. She is
a mother of three, and continues to fight her diagnosis of Friedreichs Ataxia, Congestive Heart
Failure, and Diabetes. She is a nurturing, generous person, and has sacrificed so much to insure
that her children live a happy, healthy life, but unlike most mothers, she has done all of this while
being permanently confined to a wheelchair.
All my life my mom has been in a wheelchair. By the age of 18, she was considered
permanently disabled, but it did not change her passion to become a mother. Having children was
difficult because her body was not as healthy as other mothers. My parents have become an
inspiration to many because even though the doctors said she would never walk again, they did
not give up on their dream to have children, and to grow a family together.
Having a parent in a wheelchair is normal to me, but to others, assuming by all the stares
and odd looks, it is completely bizarre. Growing up was different for me compared to a typical
child. When I was young, my dad worked for most of the day, seeking to level up and provide a
better life for his family, which left me to be the man of the house at a very young age, but its
helped build up my maturity and character. By age four, I was helping my mom change my
siblings diapers. I had copious responsibilities that have shaped me into the young adult I am
today: respectful, generous, organized, resilient, and dependable.
Life with a disabled parent has also called for acts of heroism. One summer evening in
2003, I was 5 at the time, my dad put my mom in the hot tub. I joined her, when my baby sister
woke up from a nap. My dad ran inside to get her, when suddenly my mom slipped below the

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water. Panic struck my mind, and I screamed for my dad, DADDY! DADDY! HELP!, but he
could not hear me. Without thinking, I linked my arms under hers and assured that her head was
above the surface until my dad was able to take over. I saved her life that night, and later that
month the mayor recognized me for what the city called an act of heroism. I never sought this
out to be heroic though, it was just me doing what had to be done in order save my mother. It
was a defining moment in my life because I was shown that this was my role in the family.
Overtime, my family has accepted my moms disabilities, but we continue to move
forward in life. I was brought up to never lose hope, to keep my faith, and to accept everyone for
who they are, and my family and I have accepted that she is in a wheelchair. We know that even
though life may be physically challenging, it does not change who we are on the inside. My
family and I have acceptance. We go through life with smiles on our faces, and continue to
advance further by focusing on the things we can do as a family, and not the things we can not.